ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Thought I might as well kick it off myself using all the challenges since I am vegetating with the dogs inside trying to avoid this heat. My heart goes out to people who are facing their dragons today. Hope the man upstairs keeps them safe - and some rain would be nice if you're listening Mate. Elvis might be the king but I think he's got his work cut out

Enter the Dragon



And it crept across the hillsides, down the valleys, ‘cross the creeks
its anger was quite terrible to see
and everything in its path was swallowed in its maw
it advanced relentless – with impunity.

The call went out; they hit the road knowing it would be hard
and hot, no respite given from the fight.
No time to wish, with embers on the fly around the yard,
CB chatter, that bloody eerie light
so grey, opaque, and different from the night ;
for sustenance a bread roll and some water.

They gathered at the church hall, parked their cars on gravel grey,
got busy buttering bread, shooing a fly.
They chattered quiet amongst themselves – their wish was plain today,
the picture clear in each womans mind’s eye.
Some hadn’t even bid their men goodbye,
they now worked side by side - mother and daughter.

No time to spare, they saw the dragon spew his evil flame
they heard him roar his challenge from afar,
they’d have to bite the bullet and ‘twas here they’d try to tame
that monster rampaging both near and far.
Devouring some, but others left. Bizarre.
Turn the key, start the pumps. Begin the slaughter.

And it crept across the hillsides, down the valleys, ‘cross the creeks
its anger was quite terrible to see
but a line of yellow heroes stood ready to fight the foe,
fighting for their homes, loved ones, community.


Maureen Clifford © 01/13

It's like a monster with intent isn't it Maureen ?

That it is Neville, far to terrible to contemplate and far to dangerous to ignore and as for those mindless, gutless, useless idiots who set fires, were it me able to set the rules I would put them on the front line fighting the fires day in and day out and if they were 'innocent, tender little juveniles who know not what they do' I would send them around with the traumatized local farmers who were having to destroy their injured stock. The little B's would soon get the picture.

Nice touch posting the poem in red, very apt.

I've been relatively close to rather large fires a couple of times, (never in any real danger thankfully). The thing I remember most about one of them, is the noise as the fire rushed nearer and nearer. I thought at first I was hearing a train just around the bend of the river. I could hear the noise and see the strong wind bending the trees but couldn't see any flames. I remember thinking that if I was on the other side of the river the flames would have been on top of me before I even realised what it was I was actually hearing.

That fire was so fierce it burned underground for a couple of weeks (not for the first time incidentally) and this time they decided to dig it out to get rid of the fuel once and for all. I wonder if it worked? It certainly stopped that particular fire but there is so much rubbish buried underneath the old railway workshops land that I doubt they would have removed everything.

The smoke that came from the underground fires was interesting, some of it was bright orange. We had air monitoring thingamegigs set up by the EPA at the edge of the river and they came and checked them every day. They kept assuring me that the air was ok, but God knows what nasties were burning down there.

Back to the poem ... I had a go at this one too, (just the rhyming pattern and phrases, not the picture) but I'm not all that happy with it. I'll post it anyway but I had trouble with the ababbc rhyming pattern. You seem to have handled it ok, mine is sort of jerky.