Goodes' Intentions: A poem on the Adam Goodes saga

Dear merrie men and women of The Roar. This winter is ended and so I turn my mind, to its greatest discontent. Read on and think with me…

This problem is of crowds who jeer
Their hero with imagined spear
And now in tangled mess we find
A man lost in a lost mankind

Fan and player share one heart
Surely they’re not set apart
Not crowd nor man have lost their ardour
So look to words and listen harder

This modern world is not like mine
Where outcome and intent align
You look within and break the link
By hearing what the hearer thinks

By principles you have elected
Vulnerable are protected
You hold it to your heart with gladness
Rich meet poor, in my world madness

So when a man becomes irate
Without aim to intimidate
If woman fearfully takes heed
Intimidation ’tis indeed

This dancer claimed not to intend
The crowd to frighten or offend
But clearly now the spear’s been shaken
Knows offence indeed was taken

The crowd by now must see the shame
If racist harm is not their aim
If pain of race he does incur
It is indeed a racist slur

So while much harm was done unwished
Both sides may leave the scene enriched
For crime cannot be found to stand
Without intent upon its hands

Offence and racism occurred
But minds by this should not be blurred
These outcomes while the headlines take
Not racist nor offender make

So as crowd and man may go
And good returns to Goodes in show
New knowledge must intent amend
And they should do this not again