Old Dan Poem by Peter Bodin

Old Dan was a man of many years
Who had traveled the outback track
He had wandered far along the way
With nothing but an old worn pack.

He’d seen it all or thought he had
Till he got to William Creek
For there he found to his surprise
There’d been no beer for a week.

Now Dan he liked his dropp of ale
And even a whiskey or two
But to be at a place that has no beer
Now that would never do.

With all the stars above him
He trudged into the night
With nothing but an old lamp
To show him any light.

He’d been to Sydney once he’d said
But felt it was a mistake
That people lived in such a place
Where there was no give and take.

So he’d left the day he had arrived
And had never gone back
He was at home way out here
Along the beaten track.

And so old Dan tramped along
Into history’s pages
I’m sure that he’s in heaven now
Shearing for his wages.


© P C Bodin.
October 14,2001