by steve1223adelaide, South Australia
May 2013 392 Views 2 comments
Roustabout
I'm working out at Wongilly Station
My job there is mending fences
Most nights beneath the stars I sleep
The campfire my sole companion
Sometimes I shoot a roo for food
Then there is meat aplenty
Fire crackling and meat sizzling
Gets my mouth to watering
From out of the dark so quietly
The blackfellas start coming
Don't know how, but they all know
Tonight roo is on the menu
The eerie sound of didgeridoo
Soon fills the night air
Some here, some there, the singing started
We soon had a corroboree going
Bodies twisting by flickering fire
And drink passed from hand to hand
As the night draws to a close
There's bodies everywhere laying
Woke by sun in eyes shining brightly
This is Sunday, day of rest
Gone were all the blackfellas
Just as quietly as arrived
My job there is mending fences
Most nights beneath the stars I sleep
The campfire my sole companion
Sometimes I shoot a roo for food
Then there is meat aplenty
Fire crackling and meat sizzling
Gets my mouth to watering
From out of the dark so quietly
The blackfellas start coming
Don't know how, but they all know
Tonight roo is on the menu
The eerie sound of didgeridoo
Soon fills the night air
Some here, some there, the singing started
We soon had a corroboree going
Bodies twisting by flickering fire
And drink passed from hand to hand
As the night draws to a close
There's bodies everywhere laying
Woke by sun in eyes shining brightly
This is Sunday, day of rest
Gone were all the blackfellas
Just as quietly as arrived
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Posted: May 2013
About this poem:
This was written about a period of timeapprox 40 years ago. The Australian indigenous
people were called 'blackfellas' by both
white and black alike on the stations.
I spent quite a bit of time with indigenous
Australians at that time and had many friends.
There was no disrespect meant by using that name.
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Comments (2)
I had a dream to go into the outback with a horse and tent far from the maddening crowd completely alone for a week or 2 sadly I left it too late you describe so well both the blackfellas and the corroboree Kudos dear friend