Police - South Australia Mounted Police Poem by Paul Warren

He joined after his British Army Colonial Service
Enlisting in the South Australia Mounted Police
It was a way to forget about the Indian Mutiny's horrors
And he was posted north in the hot desert lands
Riding endless patrols as the colony would command

To bring the law alone to the Outback as a difficult task
Sometimes riding alone for weeks in the saddle past
Just the Outback Sun and his own thoughts plodding on
But even these climes in the rugged scorched country
They needed the law and order with justice not brought easily

And he was the only symbol of the Crown strong
But these patrols were endless as he continued on
And there was no relief or thought of quitting then
As he crossed the flat gibber plains and red dust
Visiting the Outback reserves and cattle stations a must

Such a ruggered life for the mounted constable
In a wild frontier with large distances travelled carefully
And he saw some sights that others would never see
With a roof of millions of stars as his companions to stay
Civilisation was a thousand miles and an ancient memory away.


© Paul Warren Poetry