ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Life Out on the Track

Where the sky is ever starry, and the night winds sing sweet songs,
you can hear this country whisper this is where your heart belongs.
Then my mind begins to wander through this arid land once more;
back to life along the track to Alice, as it was before.

With a string of working Camels, we had roamed all through this land;
westward to the Ulrich Range, by crossing miles of burning sand.
Out where tribal law was still enforced by threat of pointing bones;
death awaited the unwary then, all through those arid zones.

Onwards ever onwards through the breakaways and far beyond,
with no timetable to rule us; but true mateship was our bond.
For we went where fancy took us, tried our hand at many things,
just like nomads we’d meander on - and yet we lived like kings.

With spectacular new scenery forever changing too
and the ghostly gums that lined the creeks enhanced the harshest view.
It had seemed that it would never end; this life out on the track,
for we’d joined the ranks of hardy souls, who lived their lives outback.

© T.E. Piggott

Good on ya Terry - I knew these prompts would be right up your alley and you proved it. Excellent write IMO, and your words paint a lovely picture. Do I hear a hint of yearning in them???

Thanks Maureen

Once that country gets into your blood it never really leaves.

The mention of the Ulrich Range harks back to the late seventies,
when we did a bit of exploring ourselves while prospecting for gold.
Out at what at one time was thought to be the western edge of Lassiter's country.
We didn't find any gold out there, but did come across something special.
I wrote a poem about it last year while I still remembered it - I'll post it shortly.

Cheers

Terry

A beauty, Terry! As Maureen predicted - right up your street!

I can understand how the outback gets under your skin - I have visited only as a tourist, yet it got under mine!

Cheers
Shelley

Thanks Shelley

There's something about that country that touches some of us - it seems as though you felt it too, despite just passing through.
Imagine, if like some of us, you had got to spend a bit more time, especially, in remote areas far from other distractions.
Despite the harshness of some of that country, there's something majestic about it as well I reckon.

Cheers

Terry

Brilliant, Terry - love this poem! The line and the ghostly gums that lined the creeks enhanced the harshest view. particularly appeals. I had no expectations when we were posted to Darwin back in 2004 for a couple of years, but in exploring the country up that way I found it really did get to me, and also brought me some great inspiration for writing. Great work with the prompts!

Thanks Catherine

My Daughter is doing science work in Darwin at the moment so I was up there recently myself and the memories and the feeling for that place came flooding back from when I was last there - long before cyclone (Tracy was it)
Like some of the remoter areas it has it's own special feel to it.
I have always sensed a sort of haunting feeling for the real remote areas, almost as though you have been transported to an unknown part of the planet with a secret past. The peacefulness is the other thing that struck, and it's stayed with me - always will I suspect.

Terry