Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE OLD COOLGARDIE ROAD, by DORHAM DOOLETTE First Line: A flitting shadow follows Last Line: Back to her breast again! Alternate Author Name(s): Prodigal, The Subject(s): Animals; Grief; Horses; Nostalgia; Roads; Sorrow; Sadness; Paths; Trails | ||||||||
A FLITTING shadow follows The rushing night express; Dawn shades the eastern hollows And wakes the wilderness. And there across the valley One fleeting moment showed, Between the clump of mallee, The old Coolgardie road! No clouds of dust betoken The old-time roaring days; It keeps a peace unbroken Throughout its winding ways. But when at noontide hour The warm white sunlight streams Through crimson gums in flower, The old road lives in dreams. Once more the dawn is lifting, One cold white star looks down, The dawn-fire smoke goes drifting To blur the boulder brown. A sleepy song comes creeping, Faint horsebells break our rest; And, lo! the day is sweeping Night's shadow to the west! Across the rise come striving Their ponies' feet a-spin The shouting blackboys driving The headlong brumbies in. Ho! sling the packbags over! Ho! mind the stallion's heels! The dim road calls the rover, And swift the daylight steals. With many a swamper's swag on, And many a billy black, The sandalwooding wagon Creaks off along the track. With rusty chains a-jingle, And swingle-bars a-row, In sturdy file and single, The Northam scrubbers go. See how they strain at leaving! Their metalled harness gleams On splendid shoulders heaving, The crack Victorian teams! No more with wool-bales weighted They'll cross the border runs; They travel, costlier-freighted, Beneath Westralian suns! Foam flakes the leaders hardy, Sweat clots the reeking four This morning in Coolgardie Some seasoned heads are sore; Last night some cheques were breaking, Too big to feel the loss The Hill End boys are making A record to the Cross. And Castieau's raking roanies Could give their dust to most, What though the Bayley ponies Were headed for the coast! And though from past Goongarrie Where crusted salt-lakes blaze Bound westwards like old Harry Come Northmore's rushing bays! Clear lined against the sunlight, Their saddles all a-sway, With loads that seldom run light The camels pick their way. While down the stony pass here The lusty horsemen ride To water and green grass here Along Boorabin's side! How swift the seasons leap on! 'Tis barely twelve years back Since Henning drove his sheep on Hunt's winding wagon track. He gives his Paris lady Gems that are fair to see Has he forgot the shady Noon spells on Karalee? To some, wealth past all dreaming, To some, the nameless grave; To some, for their redeeming Your careless gold you gave. The countless feet that wore you With cursing and with mirth, No more will travel o'er you; They tread the ends of earth. The brown grass waves its tassels Where once your ruts ran deep, And where we built our castles The wild-vine tendrils creep. No more our wheels will wake you, Old road, you wait in vain; The desert soon will take you Back to her breast again! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HE FINDS THE MANSION by JAMES MCMICHAEL BY DIFFERENT PATHS by MARVIN BELL DRIVING HOME by MADELINE DEFREES ART IS PARALLEL TO NATURE by CLARENCE MAJOR HIGHWAY 2, ILLINOIS by LISEL MUELLER CHAMBER MUSIC: 15 by JAMES JOYCE |
|