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Women of the West/ Frontier/Highlands/ Wilderness/Outback #72

The Women of the West


They left the vine-wreathed cottage and the mansion on the hill,
The houses in the busy streets where life is never still,
The pleasures of the city, and the friends they cherished best:
For love they faced the wilderness -- the Women of the West.

The roar, and rush, and fever of the city died away,
And the old-time joys and faces -- they were gone for many a day;
In their place the lurching coach-wheel, or the creaking bullock chains,
O'er the everlasting sameness of the never-ending plains.

In the slab-built, zinc-roofed homestead of some lately taken run,
In the tent beside the bankment of a railway just begun,
In the huts on new selections, in the camps of man's unrest,
On the frontiers of the Nation, live the Women of the West.

The red sun robs their beauty, and, in weariness and pain,
The slow years steal the nameless grace that never comes again;
And there are hours men cannot soothe, and words men cannot say --
The nearest woman's face may be a hundred miles away.

The wide bush holds the secrets of their longing and desires,
When the white stars in reverence light their holy altar fires,
And silence, like the touch of God, sinks deep into the breast --
Perchance He hears and understands the Women of the West.

For them no trumpet sounds the call, no poet plies his arts --
They only hear the beating of their gallant, loving hearts.
But they have sung with silent lives the song all songs above --
The holiness of sacrifice, the dignity of love.

Well have we held our father's creed. No call has passed us by.
We faced and fought the wilderness, we sent our sons to die.
And we have hearts to do and dare, and yet, o'er all the rest,
The hearts that made the Nation were the Women of the West.

George Essex Evans      http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-women-of-the-west/

 

 

THE CONTEST ITSELF

===================

(i) Write 6 or 7 stanzas where each quatrain is made up of two rhymed couplets.

(ii) Use basically iambic heptameters or pentameters for your ballad metre.

(iii) Please write respectfully of women of yesteryear and gear your ballad to your own country if you can manage that.

(iv) Research may be needed.

(v)  Do not parody any other poem existing. Certainly use the example of style, rhyme and rhythm that Evans [A Queenslander] uses, if you wish.

Silver, Bronze andHMs may be added if quantity of entrants and quality of ballads warrant.

Now, go to it and the best of good management.  Ron. :)

 

 

 Link: http://http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-women-of-the-west/

Contest is Over

  • Contest was judged on May 6, 2008
  • Rewards: Gold: 2000, Silver: 500, Bronze: 100
  • Final notes:


    Everyone wrote such wonderful verse for this contest, it was just a pleasure to read and enjoy them all.

    But alas, it comes down to the winners so with no further ado,



    GOLD - Rosalie
    SILVER - The Ballad of Hieland Quines
    BRONZE - The Courage of a Pioneer

    Congratulations to our top three! Well done!


Contest Winners

  1. Rosalie
    When lust for gold falls on a man he'll travel far and wide
    But rarely does he think to take a woman on his ride
    by cricketjeff 37 lines, 14 comments, on Apr 6 2:08 PM 2008. In Contest entry, wild west, Humour, Humor, Life
    Gold trophy winner
    • Commented on by judge. [remove]
  2. The Ballad of the Hieland Quines
    by Mairi bheag 36 lines, 24 comments, on Apr 6 12:29 PM 2008. In Ballad, Scottish
    Silver trophy winner
    • Commented on by judge. [remove]
  3. The Courage of a Pioneer
    by paperparadox 38 lines, 8 comments, on Apr 6 5:53 PM 2008. In Bush Ballad
    Bronze trophy winner
    • Commented on by judge. [remove]

Entries [8]

1 - 8 of 8

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Comments


  • cricketjeff gold member
    May 6, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    This was one of the most fun contests I have done on AP. I actually ended up with two poems as i wrote a version of Rosalie as soon as Lyndon posted the contest, before he had added all the rules and it was out of the required meter. Congrats to all entrants for fine poetry, to the other winners for wonderful writes and most of all to me for winning


  • Mairi bheag gold member
    May 7, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Thank you for the silver tassie.


  • paperparadox silver member
    May 7, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Thank you for the inspiration to create another bush poem for this contest~ I'm very mcuh enjoying attempting to develop the style, as I've always been an avid fan of good old Banjo and his ilk.

    To have the Bronze for the effort was a lovely surprise ... many thanks!