Banjoesque

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Wendy Seddon
Posts: 446
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 5:20 pm
Location: Medowie NSW

Banjoesque

Post by Wendy Seddon » Mon Jul 18, 2016 5:02 pm

Banjoesque

I’ve never owned a horse or swag or waltzed a muddy track,
I’ve never milked a cow or shorn a sheep
I’ve never sent a son to war to fret for his return
I’ve never ploughed a field or fished the deep.

I’ve never lost a home to flood or watched its timbers burn,
I’ve never faced an arrow, gun or spear.
I’ve never been the victim of a bully’s rants and taunts,
I’ve never huddled trembling in fear.

So where can inspiration grow to write an Aussie tale,
(I’m really not much into woe and strife)
I know no dogs on master’s grave that pine away to death,
or flooded creeks that took a luckless life.

I’d rather chat of things I’ve seen within the world I know,
the way that our great Banjo did so well.
He drew from life around him and the way it was ‘back then’
and made us want to go back there to dwell.

In Banjo’s ilk I’ll scribble down the things of everyday,
and note well unexpected turn and twist,
I’ll tweak the mundane to engage some interest in my tale
to entertain the reader is my gist.

There’ll be a touch of sadness which will make my hero strong,
a moral message subtly conveyed,
with wit and Aussie idioms I’ll draw the reader in -
my poetry in tidy rows arrayed.

Banjo’s passion centred ‘round the bushman and his stock
and even though I do hale from the bush,
my life today is desk and screen and deadlines quite unfair
and sipping coffee on a spreading ‘toosh’!

And so I must as fits my life just draw on what I see,
I look around at people where I work
Maybe a tale will show itself quite unexpectedly
an incident or funny office quirk.

My pen will fly across the page – Oh yes! I have the start…

Office Mayhem
“Stop the shredder!” came the cry
as Hilda flew in panic o’re the desk,
Wen de Rhymewriter There is nothing mundane about the ordinary.

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Shelley Hansen
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Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 5:39 pm
Location: Maryborough, Queensland
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Re: Banjoesque

Post by Shelley Hansen » Mon Jul 18, 2016 7:30 pm

Love it, Wendy!

A light hearted outline of what we all do well to remember ... we are at our best when writing of what we know.

Cheers
Shelley
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com

"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")

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alongtimegone
Posts: 1260
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 2:05 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: Banjoesque

Post by alongtimegone » Sun Jul 24, 2016 7:05 pm

I enjoyed reading that Wendy. I have written a few 'fishing' poems and a few about cooking, two activities I enjoy, but apart from that I don't have any luck drawing on life that's going on around me for inspiration. I struggle to find a poem in me these days and when I do it takes a while for it to come together.
Wazza

Jeff Thorpe
Posts: 363
Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2010 3:54 pm

Re: Banjoesque

Post by Jeff Thorpe » Mon Jul 25, 2016 11:45 am

My sentiments exactly Wendy. Write about what's going on around you.
Terrific poem
Cheers, Jeff

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