Exodus Parthenidae



The Lay of the Last Squatter
 
Draw your chair to the fire, old woman,
The days are warm, but the nights are cold ;
So, they've hunted our milkers off the common,
And pounded them, calves and all, I'm told.
Had I caught 'Long Henderson' driving 'Molly,'
I'd have made him tell me 'the reason why' ;
He'd scarcely have answered you so jolly,
Had I turned the corner suddenly.
 
Faith, 'tis time we laid our oars in the rullocks,
We've got no right of commonage now,
And the sheep are sold, and the working bullocks
And the cattle, all but the strawberry cow ;
I felt my heart for the moment soften
When the butcher offered me three pound five
For the poor old thing that you've milked so often—
She sha'n't be slaughtered while I'm alive.
 
And Robinson Brown has sent me his bill, dear,
And Morton Jones has taken the lease,
And the kangaroo dogs, 'Lion' and 'Kildeer,'
Are sold for fifty shillings apiece ;
I'm sorry to part with the red dog, truly,
At fifty shillings I call him cheap,
But the brindled dog is a trifle unruly—
Oh !  Carrington Jackson, mind your sheep.
 
I'm sure if Giles is satisfied, I am ;
The horses averaged well, and though
I'd like to have kept the colt by 'Priam,'
'Tis just as well that I let him go ;
For if my creditors won't be losers,
I've set them scratching their heads, mayhap,
And you know that some folk mustn't be choosers,
Which folk I belong to—'verbum sap.'
 
I've had an interview with the banker,
And I found him civil, and even kind ;
But the game's up here, we must weigh the anchor,
We've the surf before, and the rocks behind ;
So trim the canvas, and clear the gangways,
They've got the great unwashed on their side ;
It's no use sparring with 'Templar Strangways,'
It's no use kicking at 'Lavendar Glyde.'
 
And I guess it's all U P with the squatter ;
The people are crying aloud for the land ;
They've made it hot, and they'll find it hotter
When they plough the limestone and sow the sand.
'All flesh is grass,' so saith the preacher ;
'All grass is ours,' quoth Randolph Stow ;
Is the man related to Harriet Beecher ?
With mobile vulgus he's all the go.
 
And years to come, in the book of Hansard,
You may read the tale of the frogs retold,
How they prayed for a king, how their prayer was answered,
How the king was crowned, and the frogs were sold,
How they ended, the schemes whose names were 'Legion,'
In the Mephisopheles laughter note,
From the depths of 'the Mariner's' gastric region,
That rattled up to his innocent throat.
 
I wish you'd write me a line to Maddox
(My fingers are cramped with that boring brute) ;
I'll take his bid for the purchased paddocks,
The sum we mentioned he won't dispute.
I might have made better terms with Parker
If he hadn't known I was forced to sell,
But I couldn't have kept these matters darker,
I didn't try to—'tis just as well.
 
Fred Carson made an offer for Lancer—
'Twas a little less than his hide would bring ;
You may guess I gave him a civil answer,
Which put a stop to his huckstering ;
I loosed the old nag at the sliding railing,
And carried my saddle up to the hut ;
His eyes, as well as his limbs, are failing,
He scarcely knew when the gate was shut.
 
Aye, troubles are coming upon us thickly,
'Tis hard to leave the old place at last,
And you're not strong, and the baby's sickly,
And your mothers ailing and aging fast.
I remember the days when credit was plenty,
And years were few ; but those days are o'er ;
Old Beranger sings of the joys of twenty,
But I shall never see thirty more.
 
It's no use talking, things might have been better,
And then again they might well be worse—
You needn't trouble about that letter,
The youngster's squalling for a nurse ;
And your hand is surely unsteady,
That writing looks to be all askew,
What ! are there tears in your eyes already ?
Come, old girl, this will never do !
 
.   .   .   .   .   .   .
 
I might have taken Time by the forelock,
I might have made my hay in the sun,
I might have foreseen—but wizard or warlock
Could never undo what has been done.
And at least I've wantonly injured no man,
Although I've lived on the people's land—
Draw your chair to the fire, old woman,
And mix a drop of the battle axe brand.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 03, 2023

4:02 min read
117

Quick analysis:

Scheme a Bcbcdxdd efefbgbg xeaedhdh ijijehex akakexec alalajaj mcmcbnbn eoeoapap aqaqqrqr dsdsdadx aeaedtdt qbqbxlBl
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 4,100
Words 775
Stanzas 13
Stanza Lengths 1, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8

Adam Lindsay Gordon

Adam Lindsay Gordon was an Australian poet, jockey and politician. more…

All Adam Lindsay Gordon poems | Adam Lindsay Gordon Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem Exodus Parthenidae with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Exodus Parthenidae" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/154/exodus-parthenidae>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    14
    hours
    54
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "A Fairy Song"?
    A William Shakespeare
    B William Blake
    C Geoffrey Chaucer
    D Emily Dickinson