We can do compassion

Morrison did it

And now heir apparent Dutton is doing it

Promising

To reveal a more caring side

The need to make such a promise

Is itself an indictment

They are really saying

We’ll use smoke and mirrors to diddle the public

Outside the onion rings of private life

Caring, compassion, empathy

Cannot be simply switched on

In fact talking about them

Is evidence, recognition

Of their absence

In one’s public life

Buried out of reach

By indoctrination

By a culture of greed and entitlement

By the development of egocentric values and priorities

Stop talking

In silence and with utmost sincerity

Dig deep

There is a chance you might find them

And bring them to the surface

No one in Labor or the Greens

Needs to declare their compassion as a thing

Their affiliations and policies affirm it