Progress

Walking in the bush this morning

I did not come across

a single convenience store

or video game arcade.

No integrated alarm system

or current affairs programme

or high-security low-risk user-friendly multimedia freedom tellers.

There were no frozen stir-fried yogurt-dipped posturepedic bagels,

no fluorescent ergonomic integrated rollover kitchenettes

or single grandparent tupperware modems,

no KFC, BHP, FID, TAB or after-sales no-obligation deals,

or microwave snap-on set-and-forget condom dispensers.

Not one low-joule frost-free heat-seeking self-adhesive wrap-

around carbon-dated rust-proofed sandwich-maker

or infra-red poly-unsaturated take-away four-stroke closed-

circuit recycled tar-reduced deodorised seat-covers.

Just birdsong

and smells of eucalypt.