Fieldsy and Bill: A DR Fairly Trail

Three score and seven months ago the Odyssey began

Intrepid Fieldsy taking charge, with vision and elan,

To turn established text into a third, more sage, edition

ADR, law, identity, much theory in addition.

Too onerous proved this arduous task for authors, young and free,

They forged a brand new first edition - with cover girt by sea.

The text prolapses ADR, and DR comes to fore

One letter less, efficiency, the modern troubadour

DR is law’s true business, and the future task of lawyers

Though other disciplines bring great skills as DR purveyors.

Rachael creates matrices with fierce analysis

And practice has its rightful place - or better still praxis,

She critiques Priestly’s saintly core with missionary fervour

Though herself is, reverently, a god-fearing verger

In every field young Fieldsy brings a rigour to the joust

Her style so mellifluous recalls the prose of Proust

Judges too recalcitrant and theorists far too thin

She trumps them one by one with acerbic verve, and gin,

Bill looks on half-dazed as her libretto forms apace

Just minor emendations to claim his cover place

Disputes twixt Bill and Fieldsy? There were a somewhat few

The comma matter not resolved, it caused a constant blue.

For Rachael, every, word, must, have, its, punctuation, own,

ForBillajumbledflowofwordsnosyncopationzone

Now here’s a tale not told before, though every word is true,

Bill inveigled Fieldsy long to move to Bond’s green hue

Abandon Brisbane’s creek and drudge and start again anew

Resistance was her sad response, excuses thickly grew.

The strangest part: once Bill departs for Sydney waters twee

Then Rachael moves to level two with stark alacrity

In truth she’s now resolved to move to Sydney Harbour Bridge

Once Bill has used his GPS to reclaim Bogun ridge.

Nonetheless, to revert to quest, the virtual was at hand

To ease Homeric ventures with a constant flow of brand

One note of serious concern amidst the frippery

Concerning current happenings with lack of policy

How serious is the plight of those who flee from ravaged lands

Out-trumped by bigotry and fear, excuses weak and bland,

Asylum-seekers, refugees, minorities galore,

The flames are fanned by news corp hacks, the jocks and many more

Where is DR’s noble soul in contexts such as these?

That is a challenge we must face, so join a movement please.

To take on privilege and power, denial atmospheric,

Post-truth, untruth, and spin and sin, every sad heuristic.

But to end on sombre tones might seem a trifle crook

For cheerful lives and value add - you just should by the book.

Thanks are due to Lexis Nex, to Nick, friends, Faculty

And to abandoned progeny, my beloved DRC

Which fulsome praise it does receive about page 113

Thanks to Bond, once pioneer and leader in the race

Though ACU with holy crew is picking up the pace.

I now must end abruptly too these rhymes sore terrible

Lest there be those who shout aloud ‘Enough, far too much bull.’