ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

When ‘wet time’ breaks the drought.

A dust cloud marking fifteen hundred head of thirsty stock,
four droving men, their life as one on far north western block;
they’ll push that stock to water near a hundred further out
and push the lot back home again when ‘wet time breaks the drought.

They did it in their pre-birth time two hundred years ago,
and through their generations they have felt the north winds blow;
the droughts that bring the fires and the floods that come with rain
have been as one to four who’ve fought and won each coup de main.

Now ten years in, and ten years on, a fact that still remains,
they couldn’t go another two... unless they get the rains;
they’ve seen their cattle slaughtered, they’ve seen cattle die
in silence, watched their stock in pain when ravaged by the fly.

But for this day they’ll ply the rules that life here will demand,
to get their stock to water over rough and arid land;
then four will pray for mighty rain, extolling to their gods
for paddocks home and pastures green against so many odds.
copyright ... croc

Nice! Good one Croc...

Heather

so good to read something of yours again croc - and worth the wait. You don't disappoint - well as far as poetry goes anyway

Cheers

Maureen

Eh? Wot's this? How exactly DOES he disappoint Mausey...& HOW do YOU know?.....mmmm.....

Good to see you're taking the time for your craft croc ...
Don't let it go ...

M.

That's bonza croc. Sooo good to see you putting the pen to paper again...breaking your own drought, eh?

Ripper! Keep at it pleese.

Croc sometimes it is just good to enjoy a poem for what it is and the story it tells.


That's why we all write I reckon.


Good one Mate


Bob

Glenny - My lips are zipped - a rare occurrence certainly I know nothing and as someone else on this forum says all the time only half the lies I tell are the truth.

G’day Heather....
Thanks. It came to me after seeing some extremely bony Brahmans... and seeing how the grass is right up to my eyes and as green as grass (true)... I’m a tad over 6 foot... I figured the poor buggars were dehydrated. Or... seeing as how it’s rained cats and dogs, maybe they needed worming, I dunno; but they sure were bony. I’ll dream one up about skinny Brahmans that need worming.
Stay well.
...croc

G’day Maureen...
Thanks for your kind comments. I’ve shot it all out in the first post, so you have my full permission to read Heathers post and then you’ll be ‘in’ on how it was conceived.
Stay well.
...croc

G’day Bob...
Yeah mate, I concur wholeheartedly. Thanks Bob. Er... you also have permission to read Heathers post so you’ll be clued in as well. I don’t think Heather is going to mind. I should have saved a bit of it for each reply and then you could all have read each others posts (that would have seemed fairer...) and gleaned it from there but being the rash garrulous buggar that I am , I let it all go in one breath.
Stay well.
...croc

Mon chux...
May the gods bless you sweetheart. I checked that meter so many bloody times girl you wouldn’t believe it and even changed the words around to fit... as you do... and then managed to only get 6 feet where there should have been 7. Buggar. Good eyes lovey. Unfortunately, as do the rest, you will have to cast your eyes over Heathers post as well pet. Sorry.
Be safe lovey.
...c xx

G’day Manfred...
Yeah, it’s been a while since I had both the time and the inclination side by side; it’s been a rough year workwise, what with doing months of volunteer flood relief in places where power and p/c’s were pretty intermittently spaced (there are still some folk who are not back in their homes even yet) and then getting a 3 month job where I had to start at 6-ooam so I had to be up at 4-ooam every morning. They were long days and as like as not knock orf time was 12 hours later. That was driving a 25 ton roller for the local shire repairing flood damaged roads. I was bloody tired when I got home I assure you. I’ll knock another one together soon I suppose.
I know this is not the forum to talk ‘shop’ in but I have just got home after an extremely gruelling SES meeting... training session... and I really can’t be buggared going all the way up there and logging in again to tell you in another box that the General Chat box simply disappears out of ‘The Shed’ for absolutely no good reason at all and it never comes back very often. Gen. Chat is AWOL most of the time. Court marshal General Chat. So I put a link for it in the bottom box, what is it orf hand now... oh yeah, ‘Remember when’. Not meaning to usurp your position of whatever you call blokes who fix stuff like that, but it just seemed an easy thing to do so others who were in the know that it was there at least could flick up Gen Chat.
You don’t have to have permission to read Heathers post, as you have the rank to do that anyway.
I hope things are well for you...
...croc

I think I'm missing something """" Heathers Post """"


Can't find anything other then Good One Croc ?????


Bob Perhaps the Moderators are at work again !!!!