Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE MYSTERY MAN, by NETTIE PALMER



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MYSTERY MAN, by                    
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!





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