The Passing of Stumpy Shore

[thestoryteller]

THE PASSING OF STUMPY SHORE

The Constable had found the man 'round five on Friday morn;
Apparently while on his shift from midnight through 'till dawn.
Two youths, with blood stains on their clothes, detained drunk in the park,
Disclosed they'd rolled some homeless bloke, sometime just after dark.
Now Sergeant in this country town I'd lived round here for years;
Observed some pretty callous things, but this left me in tears.
The aged and fragile frame lay slumped there in a pool of mud
And through his snow white hair and beard was clotted, crimson blood.

The Constable looked up and said, "There fam'ly we can call?
For surely someone knows him Sarge. You know the bloke at all?"
"He's know 'round here as Stumpy lad; been here a year or two.
Came out way back in sixty-three to work on Beetaloo.
Then worked his way to overseer and often came to town;
Was captain of the football team; a sportsman of renown.
He married pretty Sheila Clark and when his son was four,
They called conscripts for Vietnam, which saw him go to war."

"A war of conflicts that would scar and traumatise the mind;
Confusing, cruel, and futile acts some failed to leave behind.
Inherent post traumatic stress was that war's legacy,
Together with the stump you see attached below his knee.
The old man lying there my lad, is testimony too,
A life spent fighting guilt and fear his mind could not subdue.
Poor Sheila shared his sleepless nights, the flashbacks and his pain,
But in the end she lost the fight as Stumpy left again."

"He camped in squats around the town and drowned his pain with wine,
Withdrew into his own quiet world, content now to resign,
From all of life's inequities, the company of folk,
But all the town saw Stumpy Shore, a harmless poor old bloke.
His Sheila raised their only son, who still lives here today;
Who cared for her through all those years, until she passed away.
She'd told him of the man she'd known, before he went to war;

"In fact one day down by the creek while Stumpy washed his socks,
He saved a lad from drowning, as he'd dived onto some rocks.
The boy he saved that very day was his own grandson Kim;
Ironical, I guess eh lad, that Stumpy should save him."
"You know Sarge when I found the man, I thought him just a bum.
I'd judged the man on what I saw, but now I feel quite numb.
The facts are mighty sob'ring Sarge and now I feel real bad.
You reckon we can find his son?" - "You're talking to him lad."

© Merv Webster

[Bellobazza]

G'day Merv...
I couldn't place the pen-name "The Storyteller", but I remember reading this poem somewhere and enjoying it immensely. Was it posted on the "old" forum?
Anyway, good that it's up here ar any rate.

Cheers, Will.

[thestoryteller]

G'day Will, hope you're keeping well. Yes it was posted before and as the plight of so many mates are still a struggle the story needs to be told, especially for the young ones.

The Storyteller.

[thestoryteller]

Clip available to view on U Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tIoTVhqZzI

The Storyteller.

[Terry]

G/day Merv,
Good stuff mate, much enjoyed, also had a listen to Keith Lethbridge from over our way.

Cheers Terry

[thestoryteller]

G'day Terry. Met Keith quite a few moons back out at Winton when we were all there for the Australian Championships one year. Rusty Christenson too.

Had some great times out there in earlier years.



The Storyteller.

[Maureen K Clifford]

Loved this Merv when it was on the old site but what a treat to actually hear you recite it and be able to see and hear your other clips as well - That was an hour of so of time well spent IMO.

What program are you using to do the audios? I used to be able to use sound recorder which I was happy with but now I am running windows 7 it doesn't support it any more and I have gone to Audacity 1.3 but am having trouble with it - too complicated. Would appreciate any knowledge you might care to impart if you know or any of our other poets know of a better system to run with windows 7,.

Cheers

Maureen

[Terry]

G/day Maureen
I mentioned when replying to one of yours (not sure if you have seen it yet) there are a couple of things for windows 7 I have Audio Studio but you can also get another from the same people called Music studio I think. I have only had a quick fiddle with mine, it cost $107 It says you can record and edit audio including music from any source. It sounds ok and has lots of special effects etc.
It's put out by 'Sound Forge' and reckons, Audio recording, editing and mastering made easy, but as I said I have only played around with it.

Cheers Terry

[Maureen K Clifford]

Thanks Terry I will have a look at that - I need something uncomplicated. I am sure the ione I downloaded is good but I am in over my head with it at this point of time anyway.

Cheers

Maureen

[thestoryteller]

G'day Maureen. The tracks I've used in the clips are tracks from off our Cd's and were professionalyy recorded. I haven't dabbled much with self recording.

I've only just changed to Windows 7 myself and am still learning the ropes. Have you asked the kid next door.?



The Storyteller.