ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Reflections of a broken man

Fire side reflections bring a sombre mood within.
The flames that forged the grandest plans-no more,
Instead the inner sanctum of my mind is now entwined
with reflections on decisions made before .

Decisions that were grounded in desire to excel .
To become the very best a man can be .
Foolproof plans of fortune that would gain a man respect,
but the only fool who followed them was me.

Selection of a five mile block would be a fertile ground
to make my mark amongst the landed folk .
The warnings of my folly came from people far and wide,
yet I never heard a single word they spoke .

Decisions that brought devastation ,sorrow and remorse
reflected on while gazing at the coals .
A wife who aged too early , children growing up with hate,
all were sacrificed pursuing lofty goals.

Alone I sit and ponder as the embers lose their glow
the twilight of my life is fading fast .
Denied by drought and famine, cattle lost in swirling floods,
magnifying poor decisions of the past..

A broken man I write these words so others will take heed.
Don’t let a vain desire rule your life
for I long for times departed, where we shared a common goal ,
a partnership of husband, kids and wife

© Marty Boyce 2012

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Campfires, good company and a few beverages under a night sky , it doesnt get any better than that

A good recollection tale Marty good indeed

We all have to make our own mistakes and learn from them - words from the wise never are when we are young

Love this poem Marty I see the picture so well and relate to the words you have written. IMO an excellent piece. Thank you for sharing it

Cheers

Maureen

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Check out The Scribbly Bark Poets blog site here -
http://scribblybarkpoetry.blogspot.com.au/


To the home of a friend the way is never long
the welcome is always warm and the Billy always on.

Thanks Bill and Maureen .

when this one popped into my noggin this morning it was somewhat different, but I'm pretty happy with what came out in the end

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Campfires, good company and a few beverages under a night sky , it doesnt get any better than that

Nice one, Marty. The rhyming pattern has gone west in verse 4. You might want to have a look at that.

Thanks Stephen ,

adjusted it in stanza 4 I think it works properly now

Marty

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Campfires, good company and a few beverages under a night sky , it doesnt get any better than that

No worries, Marty. I was thinking you might like to try to find a way to switch 'coals' from the first line to the second to pick up 'goals' in the last line.

ah yeah didnt even see that , will have to have a think now

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Campfires, good company and a few beverages under a night sky , it doesnt get any better than that

Camp fires are good when you need to ponder.

TTFN

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I Keep Trying

Great poem Marty!! What a shame the ability to reflect doesn't come a little earlier eh?!?!

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What goes around, comes around.