Homework WE 25/1/15 - "Heave Ho" by AJ McIntyre

[Shelley Hansen]

I'd love to write a sea shanty in response to the current homework prompts - and there certainly has been a wealth of inspiring verse already submitted! However, my 90 year old mother suffered a stroke last week, so I'm rather time-constrained and mentally challenged at the moment.

Therefore, as time will run out before my brain gets into the right gear - I thought I would share someone else's poem this time around. It is along the lines of David's fishing experience, and was written many years ago by a local poet. I did not know him personally but his work influenced me in my early writing days. He has long since passed away.

AJ McIntyre (known as Mac) was a peanut farmer in the South Burnett region of Queensland. He and his wife retired to Hervey Bay, and his poems used to grace the pages of our local newspaper back in the 70s and 80s (when newspapers had a weekly "poetry corner"). He wrote both humorous and serious verse, and had a rare gift for capturing "the moment"!

I still have and treasure his small self-published booklet "Sometimes I Worry Me" which is subtitled "A Collection of Dingbat Poetry Guaranteed to Whip Your Interest Up to a Wide Yawn". I wish I'd been able to tell him the part he played in my poetry journey.

Enjoy!

HEAVE HO

They tell me it's mind over matter
When the stomach begins to rebel,
And the dinghy is rocking and rolling
In a nauseous easterly swell.
Now this doesn't bring you much comfort
Or make your plight easy to bear
When the cold sweat has popped out all over
And your mind is just numb with despair.

Draped over the side of the dinghy
With your head near the water beneath,
While your stomach uncoils like a mainspring
And you hang on like mad to your teeth!
You've lost all your poise and your polish,
Your dignity ... torn to a shred
As another big spasm engulfs you
And you're wishing real hard you were dead.

The furrowed old brow is quite clammy,
The face is a pale shade of green,
And a shuddering heave leaves a vacuum
In the place where your breakfast has been.
The shore is a blur in the distance,
You can see through the tears in your eye.
And you're making loud noises of anguish
And hoping to curl up and die.

They talk of the pain of Arthritis,
Gallstones and Childbirth as well,
But nothing approaches the torment
Of a boat in a big oily swell.
All other things are quite minor
The victims will tell you real quick.
There's nothing on earth that will equal
Draped over a boat ... being sick!

(c) AJ "Mac" McIntyre

[Neville Briggs]

I can relate to that poem Shelley.


Sorry to hear about your mum. Take care.

[Terry]

Hi Shelly

I think it's great to sometimes put up a poem written by, (to some extent) virtually unknown poets.
There are so many people out there that have penned the odd poem and even lot's of them sometimes.
And it's even better if that person had some influence on your own journey into poetry.

I have a relative who wrote poetry in and about mostly the thirties and forties and it was after treading some of his poems,
that I decided to have a go myself.

Hope your Mum's health is on the improve Shelly.

Terry

[Maureen K Clifford]

Thanks for sharing Mac's poem with us Shelley - it is a beauty and I can see why his writing would have an influence as well.

Are you in contact with his family - I am sure they would love to hear your feelings about his writing an the influence it had on your own work.

Do hope your Mum makes a good recovery - hard times for the family when this happens. Hang in there.

[alongtimegone]

That's a wonderful poem Shelley and the writer has certainly not missed a beat of the experience. I've been there and it really was one of the worst bouts of nausea I'd ever had.
Thanks for sharing the poem and I hope all comes right for your mum.
Wazza

[Catherine Lee]

Great poem Shelley - thank you for sharing it. Really sorry to hear about your Mum and do hope she will be OK xx

[Shelley Hansen]

Thank you all for your good wishes for my Mum. It's difficult to know where the future will take us, but we're just dealing with one day at a time and hoping things will settle for her.

I'm so pleased that Mac's poem struck a chord with many of you. In answer to your question Maureen, although I'd love to contact his family, it is at least 30 years since he died and I have absolutely no idea who or where they might be. My sole knowledge of him was through our newspaper's weekly poetry column, back in my teenage and early married life years. I faithfully cut out every poem and kept them all. Then years later, quite by chance I discovered his little booklet in a second hand store. I had not known it existed, and as you can imagine, I pounced on it. I only know about his peanut farming and retirement to Hervey Bay through his poems.

Of all his work, my absolute favourite is a beautiful verse about life and love, titled "Year of Jubilee". It is a real gem - simple and heartfelt. I'd love to post it so you could all enjoy it. Where is the best spot in the forum for it?

Cheers, Shelley

[Maureen K Clifford]

I guess you could just post it under Users Bush Poetry with his name on it - I doubt anyone is going to mind - bearing in mind we have a 70 year copyright rule here in Australia. I would love to do an article and use them in the magazine but because of the copyright and with no way to connect I cannot do that - such a shame to see poetry like this hiding in obscurity so at least it gets a run on this page which is great. Might be able to find a way to use it on FB - I'll see what can be done.