Works in the Herald 1931
"JIM"
Have you heard the magniloquent, eloquent Jim?
   The yogi of Yarra, whose silvery tongue,
In days of his promise won many votes from us,
   When loud in the land was the praise of him sung,
And he magnetised all with his vigor and vim -
   That great oratorical oracle, Jim.

But the days of his rigorous, vigorous speech
   And plausible promise have gone to the pack.
When days come for action, the feud and the faction
   Are making him seem a political hack
For the glamour is gone and his glory goes dim,
   And inflation oration may jettison Jim.

The silence so golden, in olden days gone,
   Is not yet debased, tho' he talked without end.
His usus loquendi has come to an end, he
   Must seek for new methods if ways he would mend,
The land looks for much from her eminent son;
   But talking and baulking won't get the thing done.

"Den"
Herald, 16 February 1931, p4
and
Advertiser and Register, 2 March 1931, p8

Note:
This is number 1 in Dennis's Political Personalities series.
The "Jim" referred to in this poem was Jim Scullin, who was Prime Minister of Australia at the time.

Copyright © Perry Middlemiss 2002-11