Ipswich Adventures with Maureen and Leonie

[Maureen K Clifford]

Not the flaunting Quoll the sleeping Quoll

[Leonie]

...and the cuddling Bilbies .. uumh is that Bilbies or Bilbys? Ok, it's both there were two of 'em, they were cuddling, where are they?

... and who is silly that old bag with the BIG bilby? Uh oh. ... I think it's me. eeek.

Congratulations again Kym, what did we tell ya hey, what did we tell ya, first prize woo hoo, and not just any old first prize either top overall poet as well as top bush poet. Well done.

[Heather]

Please Bob, please! You are on holidays, you can do it!

You gotta go Kymmie. I'll bring the Tia Maria!

[Kym]

Oh sorry Maureen, I thought you meant the "interesting" one, not just the sleeping one ...
and sorry Leonie, the bilby photo didn't come out very clear. Because of the blue light, they just like an ultrasound picture. I would have liked to get a photo of the hopping desert mouse, but he was zooming around doing laps of his room faster than Speedy Gonzalez!

I haven't heard back from Bob, perhaps he's hiding so I don't ask huge favours of him.

[Neville Briggs]

Great photos, ladies.

[Heather]

Bob's internet has crashed. He opened something he shouldn't have and is now covered in a nasty virus!

[Darren]

Congratulations Maureen and Kim. Well done girls.

Sounds like you all had a great weekend.

[manfredvijars]

Another one of Lawson's that echoes "Babes ... "

The Water-Lily
Henry Lawson

.... A lonely young wife
.... In her dreaming discerns
.... A lily-decked pool
.... With a border of ferns,
.... And a beautiful child,
.... With butterfly wings,
Trips down to the edge of the water and sings:
.... ‘Come, mamma! come!
.... ‘Quick! follow me—
‘Step out on the leaves of the water-lily!’

.... And the lonely young wife,
.... Her heart beating wild,
.... Cries, ‘Wait till I come,
.... ‘Till I reach you, my child!’
.... But the beautiful child
.... With butterfly wings
Steps out on the leaves of the lily and sings:
.... ‘Come, mamma! come!
.... ‘Quick! follow me!
‘And step on the leaves of the water-lily!

.... And the wife in her dreaming
.... Steps out on the stream,
.... But the lily leaves sink
.... And she wakes from her dream.
.... Ah, the waking is sad,
.... For the tears that it brings,
And she knows ’tis her dead baby’s spirit that sings:
.... ‘Come, mamma! come!
.... ‘Quick! follow me!
‘Step out on the leaves of the water-lily!’

[mummsie]

What a beautiful poem Manfred. Very sad, but so depicts the emotion of a greiving mother.

Sue

[Maureen K Clifford]

I've never read that one before Mannie - it is beautiful. I wonder if he wrote that also about the Babies at Walloon?

This is the one I entered in last years Poetry Feast - it didn't do any good, but I set it up as a video clip anyway - it tells the story of Mary and Bridget the two little girls who drowned, and includes some old photos from the Ipswich archives collection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO4YG2RefCA