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Henry Lawson
Comments about Henry Lawson
Andy's Gone With Cattle
Our Andy's gone to battle now
'Gainst Drought, the red marauder;
Our Andy's gone with cattle now
Across the Queensland border.
He's left us in dejection now;
Our hearts with him are roving.
It's dull on this selection now,
Since Andy went a-droving.
Who now shall wear the cheerful face
In times when things are slackest?
And who shall whistle round the place
When Fortune frowns her blackest?
Oh, who shall cheek the squatter now
When he comes round us snarling?
His tongue is growing hotter now
Since Andy ...
`for'Ard'
It is stuffy in the steerage where the second-classers sleep,
For there's near a hundred for'ard, and they're stowed away like sheep, --
They are trav'lers for the most part in a straight 'n' honest path;
But their linen's rather scanty, an' there isn't any bath --
Stowed away like ewes and wethers that is shore 'n' marked 'n' draft.
But the shearers of the shearers always seem to travel aft;
In the cushioned cabins, aft,
With saloons 'n' smoke-rooms, aft --
Joan, re terms
A 'sliprail' is used. In place of a gate at the entrance of a stock yard. More than one rail can be used. They are slipped out of the way to permit animals to enter or leave the enclosure. They are mentioned in Henry's famous poem, The Sliprail and the Spur.
'Select' was the process of acquiring a parcel of land. It was a process of encouraging closer settlement of farming land and was a sub-division of a squatter's land. Have a look at Henry's The Free Selector's Daughter.
Henry is indeed a genius. One of my favourites is Because of Her Father's Blood, also Booth's Drum 2
His poems are sprinkled all through my life and I find it a comfort to wander through the legacy of his work. What a cracker of a poet he was: ^)
he is the best poet and he is an inspiration
What cool poems, reminds me of the late Barry Crump
I love Henry Lawson's work. Here's a reply to Lynda on Lake Eliza - I think you might find it in The Rising Of The Court by the man himself, published in 1910 but I have never seen an actual copy, just reproduced parts. There is a reference ISBN: 1920897437. :)
Can anyone tell me what publication (if any) contains the poem about Lake Eliza? I see it's now on poemhunter, but we were once told it wasn't published anywhere. Not sure whether that was true or not.
I enjoy the poetry, but I wish there was a dictionary for terms that make no sense to me. (sliprails, select)
i really liked ur poem after all u did a really good job on it
where is the waterlilly? ..... i cant find the poem 'The Water-Lilly' does any one know where i could find it?