A Hole For my Hip
I reached the old hut at the end of the day.
There wasn’t a bunk or a bed.
I thought, “I will crash on the floor right away” –
So weary, I felt almost dead.
But the floorboards beneath me were ruthless and flat.
Slumber could not gain a grip.
I rested my head on my jacket and hat,
But I needed a hole for my hip.
I found a small axe by the pile of wood.
I chopped at the floorboards with zest.
I thought, “I will sleep as a wanderer should.
Thank God for this axe, it’s the best!”
I lay down once more, but it still wasn’t right.
The sides of the hip-hole cut deep.
I knew I’d be in for a terrible night,
With scarcely much prospect of sleep.
So I made the hole larger. Oh, how the chips flew,
As the blade struck again and again!
I thought, as the hole for my hip grew and grew,
“Yes, now I will lie without pain!”
I tried to lie down, but I tumbled instead,
And fell through this bloody great hole.
I lay on the ground. Would this do for a bed?
Had I finally come to my goal?
I snuggled up warm where I lay on the ground.
I thought, “There is only blip!”
A place most conducive to sleeping I’d found...
But I needed a hole for my hip!
© Stephen Whiteside 21.07.2018
A Hole For my Hip
- Stephen Whiteside
- Posts: 3784
- Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:07 pm
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A Hole For my Hip
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
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Re: A Hole For my Hip
digging a hole for yourself, a metaphor for some politician perhaps ????
Neville
" Prose is description, poetry is presence " Les Murray.
" Prose is description, poetry is presence " Les Murray.
- Shelley Hansen
- Posts: 2224
- Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 5:39 pm
- Location: Maryborough, Queensland
- Contact:
Re: A Hole For my Hip
Oh Stephen, I love it!
I just told Rod you have written a poem especially for him ... he is the most terrible insomniac, and there hasn't been a bed made that he finds comfortable! Now I know what to buy him for the ideal gift - an axe!
Definitely made me laugh out loud!
Cheers
Shelley
I just told Rod you have written a poem especially for him ... he is the most terrible insomniac, and there hasn't been a bed made that he finds comfortable! Now I know what to buy him for the ideal gift - an axe!
Definitely made me laugh out loud!
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")
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")
- Stephen Whiteside
- Posts: 3784
- Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:07 pm
- Contact:
Re: A Hole For my Hip
Could be, Neville!
Thanks Shelley. When all else fails...
Thanks Shelley. When all else fails...
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au