Homework - A summers Trek - Sonnet - 2009

[Terry]

I found that old one and only Sonnet of mine I mentioned,
Surprised it was so long ago - had to give it a quick critique - but it wasn't too bad.
Easy to see that this was in the middle of my prospecting days.

A SUMMER TREK - Sonnet

With urgent haste I trudge through burning sand,
While urging weary camels to the south,
Where cruel mirages creep across the land
To now torment and taunt my parched dry mouth.
Through red rimmed eyes inflamed with sandy blight
I glimpse at last a blurred but distant creek,
And see the ghost gums standing stark and white,
To guide me now towards the place I seek
But find now with dismay the creek is dry
So I endure a tiring sleepless night
And dig with haste and hope till limbs do cry,
Until at last there comes a welcome sight.

There’s water trickling in my hole there still,
Long hours now since we all have drunk our fill

*****

T.E. Piggott  9/10/2009

[Ron]

Great read Terry, You have painted a realistic picture of a desperate and traumatic experience in a harsh land! with a happy ending thankfully.
Well done mate.

Cheers
Ron

[Shelley Hansen]

It's a good one Terry! A classic Shakespearean!

Will would have been proud (if he'd known what the Aussie Outback was like!!)

[Catherine Lee]

Excellent sonnet, Terry - you really have risen to this challenge brilliantly! And as always with your poetry, you paint the scene so well that anyone reading it is instantly there on the spot seeing and feeling it all!

[Terry]

Thanks Ron Shelley and Catherine

I was thinking about the reference that a lot of my stuff is quite descriptive.

I think that is because I usually write about things and places I know well,
and have a sort of picture in my mind most times of what I'm writing about.
I guess we all have our own individual ways of going about it.

Terry

[Shelley Hansen]

That personal touch is invaluable, Terry. Anyone reading your poetry can see it is written from life, and that gives your reader a window to view the scene through your eyes.

Definitely a recipe for impact and appeal.

Cheers
Shelley

[Maureen K Clifford]

Nicely done Terry as you do. I like the twist at the end - from a very Aussie perspective, where water shortage is always an issue, and doubtless your own personal experience from fossicking in desert country comes to the fore and holds you in good stead. Good ink mate.