Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE MYSTERY MAN, by NETTIE PALMER First Line: Going home in the dusk from the township Last Line: Dan kelly, the brother of ned! Subject(s): Animals; Crime & Criminals; Dogs; Rumors | ||||||||
GOING home in the dusk from the township We passed an old man with his dog. "Good evening," said we, and "Good evening," said he, Then turned down a track by a log, A quiet old track by a log. And somebody said, "Well, who'd think it?" And "What would you think then?" I said. "Why, that man going home with his dog, Going down on the track by the log, He's no one but Kelly, the Kelly, Dan Kelly, the brother of Ned!" "But how can you know that?" I asked him. He said, "It's as plain as your nose. From nowhere he came, with a vague sort of name, And a beard that nobody grows, No, nowadays nobody grows. And kiddies won't pass him at twilight And he talks to his dog, so it's said, And it's all about watches and gold And things that shouldn't be told. So he's no one but Kelly, the Kelly, Dan Kelly, the brother of Ned." Now that was in one little township, But many such townships there be From Mansfield to Sale or the Acheron Vale, And one point in common you'll see, They've all the one bogey to see. For someone's said, "Well, he's a caution!" "That little old man there?" I've said. "Yes, there's loot in his hut, So he keeps the door shut, For he's no one but Kelly, the Kelly, Dan Kelly, the brother of Ned." So bogeys will never be dead While men get dreams in their head, And an old chap ready for bed And tired with the life he's led, Shearing in shed after shed Or mining or farming instead, Has got to be Kelly, the Kelly, Dan Kelly, the brother of Ned! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...REFLECTIONS ON ESPIONAGE: 9/12 (TO IMAGE) by JOHN HOLLANDER RUMOUR AND SLANDER by ROBERT POLLOCK RUMOR ABOUT ME WANDERS AND SPREADS by BELLA DIZHUR REFLECTIONS ON ESPIONAGE: 9/12 (TO IMAGE) by JOHN HOLLANDER RUMORS: A FAMILY MATTER by CLARENCE MAJOR FLEET-FOOTED RUMORS by MUSHAKOJI SANEATSU EPIGRAM: 36. RUMORS by JOHN HENRY OWENS |
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