ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Bob mentioned this poem in his report on the Liz Huf anthology launch, so I thought it might be worth putting up for a few reasons.

Firstly, because there are regular complaints that not many prize-winning poems get posted here.

Secondly, because it was reformatted for the book, presumably to fit page-size requirements, and this reinforces a recent discussion I had with another bush poet. Once a poem is 'out there' for publication anything can happen to it, so what appears doesn't necessarily reflect what you wrote.

And thirdly, because of the subject-matter. It deals with an issue that has been very much in the Australian news in recent years, but it is a universal problem, and a very contentious one at that. The competition rules only called for "rhyming verse", not a "bush ballad", which is why I entered it. In other words, despite its style, I made a conscious decision that it probably wouldn't be welcome in a bush poetry competition. Any thoughts?

Darken the Night

Darken the night, banish my sight, and muffle the sound of my weeping;
whisper a name, someone to blame while others around me are sleeping.
Footfalls are nigh, do not ask why, for no-one believes what I’m saying;
dreading so much, wait for his touch, his voice in my nightmare, still praying.

Bless you, my son, everyone
must have just a little affection;
nothing is wrong, just play along…
you’ll thank me, I’m sure, on reflection.

Stifle the pain, nothing to gain, a horror beyond understanding;
block out his face and the disgrace that comes with the price he’s demanding.
Think of the day, now far away, a father and mother so caring;
then came that call, farewell to all the family life we’d been sharing.

It will be fine, have some more wine,
for you’re very special, so hurry,
come here my boy, you will enjoy
the gifts that I offer…don’t worry.

Somewhere above, God, who is love, while watching this evil unfolding,
must know the truth, innocent youth degraded by all He’s beholding.
Faith turns to doubt, I want to shout: ‘My life is no longer worth living!
I am now dead, Hell lies ahead, as no-one could be so forgiving!’

Hush now, my child, nothing’s defiled,
for God’s work is what I’m pursuing;
don’t be afraid, you’ve been well-paid,
and none will believe what we’re doing.

How can it be? Why can’t they see the innocence they are corrupting?
Breaking the law, they just ignore the multiple lives they’re disrupting.
Utter despair…who now will care? There’s nowhere to turn for salvation.
All is now gone, I can’t go on, debased by the world’s condemnation.

Let us now pray God finds a way
to grant all his lost sheep redemption.
You must confess if you transgress…
and no one can seek an exemption.

Darken the night, bury my plight in shadows beyond comprehension;
truth will be lost, I’ll bear the cost, the Church will conceal all dissension.
I see no hope, no chance to cope, no way of surviving this sorrow.
Lacking a voice, I have no choice…farewell to the light of tomorrow.

© David Campbell, 2013

Can't see why not. It adheres to all of the(I won't say rules, but perhaps conditions) that bush poets apply to their writing ...doesn't it?? Apart from that, it's a great poem and should be out there for all of us to read.
Wazza

Excellent poem David and a controversial subject but one that should be discussed. We are breaking down the taboos. Once it was socially inappropriate to be divorced, live in sin or have a child out of wedlock! My grandmother's sister left the country because she divorced, such was the disgrace; women had their children taken from them if the weren't married. Now we openly talk about and face problems such as depression and suicide and now child abuse and domestic violence.

I've had a few poems published in the local newspaper and I always stipulate that it must be in the format I send it. I remember someone I know being really upset because their poem had been squeezed onto a page and the words shuffled to make it fit and it changed the way the poem was read.

I agree that this poem would not fit the "bush" poetry criteria and therefore not welcome in most bush competitions. Most of my poems wouldn't either. It shows just how limiting the criteria are and how bush poetry is in danger of becoming irrelevant, especially to the urban areas. It's written by an Australian and it could easily be about an Australian child. You should not have to trip over the "Australia" in a poem for it to be about Australia or Australians. Would anyone tell Lawson his Women of the Town or Faces in the Street aren't Australian poems?

Once a poem is "out there" is a danger in itself. A well known bush poet (who I won't name) had a poem stolen and passed off as someone else's. It was tracked it down to someone in South Africa. That poem was most likely stolen from the internet. It's the reason I am reluctant to have my poems on facebook or other internet sites. It also means that if you change a poem at some stage - and I do that continuously, you can have various versions of the one poem "out there" in cyber space. I've had poems used in print (without my prior permission) that were not the versions I would want people to read. Several reciters have problems deciding which version of some Lawson poems to recite because there are various versions.

Heather


Geez, nearly burnt my steak!

This is one powerful poem David - should be out there for all to read! I agree about the bush poetry competitions also. If the criteria is just 'rhyming verse' or 'traditional rhyming style' that's one thing, but if it states 'must be Australian bush verse about Australians or Aussie way of life' then I wouldn't enter it in one of those either. This is where the criteria limits us as Heather says, and makes it more difficult to get such poems out there. This one would speak so strongly to the hearts of many - I think the subject matter is enhanced by the traditional style and somehow makes it all the more chilling.

Thank you all for your comments and support on a very contentious topic.

The thing about this issue is that, although universal, it has been the basis for much debate in Australia for a number of years. There have been countless reports of the damage inflicted on individuals and families by a range of institutions, not just the Catholic Church. So isn't the poem relevant to the Australian way of life? If it's not seen as fitting the ABPA guidelines (and it probably isn't in the broader bush poetry community), then why is that so? And should it continue to be so?

I'd like to think that Warren is right about the rules and that the "big door" that Matt refers to is wide open...all we have to do is broaden perceptions and encourage more people to walk through it.

Cheers
David

Just start sending them in and see what happens if enough do then change will come.


I relate the story of the Judge at Tamworth who told me a poem I submitted was PUB HUMOUR ! and would make no further comment.

The same poem won a highly commended in the Charlie Marshall Comp a couple of months later with no changes ?

I check every year if they have the same judge and they do so no entries from me but perhaps I should just wack a couple in the stir the pot


Bob

Bob

Hi David,

As all have said, this is an extremely powerful poem on a subject as dark as the night you write about. From my point of view it does fit the modern criteria for Aussie bush poetry. Besides being an ongoing issue, it is a tragic episode in this country's history. It is certainly part of the Aussie way of life, albeit a very sad part.

You won the Bronze Swagman a couple of years ago with your outstanding "Wasteland" which tackled another difficult subject - dementia. From memory it did not specifically reference Australia, yet it triumphed in one of the most iconic bush poetry competitions of them all.

But I guess it all depends on the judge's interpretation of each competition's criteria, and as we well know, the opinions of judges are as diverse as the poems we write

Cheers, Shelley

Thanks, Shelley. You make a good point about Wasteland, although it was made very clear that the central character was a farmer's wife. I sometimes wonder how the poem would have fared if there'd been no reference at all to location.

Cheers
David

Great poem David, on a very difficult subject. I would like to think it would win prizes in a bush poetry comp, but I'm not sure that it would.
On one hand we have many comps are saying their entries are down, and on the other we have a number of our really good poets not entering certain comps because the entry requirements are too strict. I wonder if there is a correlation between the two?

Thank you Robyn, and yes, you'd have to think there's some sort of correlation.

Cheers
David