The journey was horrendous for the bride of just sixteen,
through broad grey swathes of vastness that no girl had ever seen.
The piece of land just purchased was beyond the Longreach track
and leaving home was hard because they’d not be coming back.
A bushman from the outset, he had come to town last spring,
with shrapnel in his pocket and a homemade wedding ring.
He’d lingered at the dances and had prowled around the fair,
and fallen for this slender girl with waist-length, flaxen hair.
The horses tripped and stumbled on the rocks and steep ravines,
yet she followed in their wake because she loved her man of means.
They reached their destination after thirteen days of hell,
and the newly married girl surveyed the ‘home’ where they would dwell.
A one-room shed of beaten tin stood lonesome in the rain.
She helped unload the horses and not once did she complain.
The next few months she fought the mud and planted rows of seeds,
whilst tending to her husband and fulfilling all his needs.
The children came, and hardship was the burden that she bore;
resourcefulness was crucial to complete the simplest chore.
The heat and flies were merciless, with summer floods and drought ~
the heartbreak of a crop destroyed without a single sprout.
Their loneliness and isolation took a heavy toll,
Yet courage and resilience underpinned her role.
Great sacrifice is central to a pioneering life…
T’is no place for a lady ~ but a damn courageous wife.
A contest entry
- Women of the West/ Frontier/Highlands/ Wilderness/Outback #72 by Lyndon.
2600 points, ended May 6, 2008, 8 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - #185 for Winklings & all friends of Winklers by Lyndon.
2100 points, ended October 11, 16 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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CONGRATULATIONS LOU1
This must be the first time that we have both submitted entries for the same contest during the three years which have elapsed since, at your recommendation, I joined AP, I can't believe that, in those three years I have written and submitted over 2000 pieces of prose or poetry which have kept, at least, my mind active, even though my ageing frame has degenerated in that time.
I found an ABC DVD recently 'Pam Ayres in her own words' to which I've enjoyed listening. Please let me know if you have produced a CD or DVD of your readings; I'd like to add it to my collection if you have.
Congratulations on your well deserved bronze trophy.
Michael
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A true to life story Lou, so well done! Congratulations.
I could visualize that little tin shack and that wonderfully strong young woman.
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You tell a compelling story of courage in this ballad which flows so well metrically and with natural rhyme. That it is a woman's courage earns you brownie points from me.
This ballad feels authentic in the hardship you describe. If this poem were a photograph I'd say you took this shot with a wide angle lens rather than a macro one - the detail you describe is of a broad nature. A very well balanced poem.
Is it set in South Africa? (bushmen) or somewhere else. I did not google but Longreach may give us a global clue.
Thank you for a worthy poem.
Danni
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Very good indeed - congratulations on the trophy.
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Wonderful poem, great story, fun read, has it all!
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Ahhh, you guys are making this so tough. Really a terrific ballad. Heartfelt and courageous. Wonderful rhythm, flow and meter. Excellent entry.
~Pamela
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True grit.
Loved every true word of it ... true to nature of those pioneers. A great tribute and a great poem and good luck in the contest.
Bazza
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This is penned by someone who knows the deal of living in the wilds of nowhere! Blows me right away this does babes-I can feel it all in every verse-I think you stand to win this one-and if you don't I'll want to know why!!!
Love Hilly xxx
By the way-there is white stuff coming out the sky-and it aint flour!!! What happened to bloomin' Spring?!
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