Classic and Contemporary Poetry
PIONEERS, by ANDREW BARTON PATERSON Poet's Biography First Line: They came of bold and roving stock that would not fixed / abide Last Line: The founders of our nation's life, the brave old pioneers. Alternate Author Name(s): Paterson, 'banjo' Subject(s): Frontier And Pioneer Life; Pioneers | ||||||||
They came of bold and roving stock that would not fixed abide; They were the sons of field and flock since e'er they learnt to ride, We may not hope to see such men in these degenerate years As those explorers of the bush -- the brave old pioneers. 'Twas they who rode the trackless bush in heat and storm and drought; 'Twas they who heard the master-word that called them farther out; 'Twas they who followed up the trail the mountain cattle made, And pressed across the mighty range where now their bones are laid. But now the times are dull and slow, the brave old days are dead When hardy bushmen started out, and forced their way ahead By tangled scrub and forests grim towards the unknown west, And spied at last the promised land from off the range's crest. O ye that sleep in lonely graves by distant ridge and plain, We drink to you in silence now as Christmas comes again, To you who fought the wilderness through rough unsettled years -- The founders of our nation's life, the brave old pioneers. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE TEMPEST by WILLIAM JAY SMITH THE BALLAD OF WILLIAM SYCAMORE (1790-1880) by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET ON THE EMIGRATION TO AMERICA AND PEOPLING WESTERN COUNTRY by PHILIP FRENEAU SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: RUTHERFORD MCDOWELL by EDGAR LEE MASTERS CROSSING THE PLAINS by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER WESTWARD HO! by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER FACE TO FACE by ADRIENNE CECILE RICH THE SETTLER: AMERICA IN THE MAKING by ALFRED BILLINGS STREET THE FOUNDERS OF OHIO by WILLIAM HENRY VENABLE A BALLAD OF DUCKS by ANDREW BARTON PATERSON |
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