These books list the names of people long dead,
a calendar of events is there to be read.
Some will amaze, and some will astound;
a small town's history is there to be found.
Notes of criminals and their crimes,
the comings and goings of the times,
these and many more are noted
in browning ink, and now are quoted:
Police horse 'Daisy' has four new shoes;
a constable on 'Ranger' brings the news
that ‘sudently of applexy,’ whilst out for a ride,
Henry Grainger, Pensioner, has died.
Ticket of leave man 'five-three-eight'
is a name that appears on several dates,
'stealing from his master' and 'drunk in the town',
'disorderly' too, if the truth be known.
The verdict of the magistrate and a jury of three,
at the recent inquest on Elizabeth P.,
was 'she died of sunstroke' which they found quite plain,
had caused 'flamation of the brain'.
Mr Devlin reports, it couldn't be clearer,
the loss of his dog, a black and white heeler.
It's now been gone for a day or two,
after straying whilst chasing a big kangaroo.
There are more of such incidents I could translate
from the entries in ink-spattered copperplate,
but for now what I've written must suffice
until someone tells me that more would be nice.
Author notes
I have in my possession two 'Occurrence Books' which are the records of the daily happenings in a country police ststion in Western Australia during the late 1860s and early 1870s. Handwritten in copperplate in lined, foolscap, leather bound 'diaries'.
This poem is based on some of the events therein recorded.
A contest entry
- The Pages Of Your Soul by FlipperSwitch.
600 points, ended March 16, 2007, 15 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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Interesting, not what I expected- nice! I found it slightly humorous for some reason, and also sad. Nice rhyme scheme also, thank you for your entry.
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nice
In Australia, the word nice has a variety of meanings, many of them informal, some of them derogatory, some of them, as in my poem, describing the subtle, accurate, deft way in which something is done.
Thankyou for your comments, they are very much appreciated; in fact I found them very nice.
Best wishes
Shenton
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