Possum A Lay Of New Chumland Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDDD EEFFGHII JJKKLLMM NNOOPPQQ RRSSTTUU QQQQVVII WWQQXXYY ZZA2A2ZZB2B2 ZZC2C2ZZD2E2 F2F2ZZG2G2II H2H2QQIII2I2 QQJ2J2K2K2D2D2YYI2I2 ZZDDSO YER trav lin for yer pleasure while yer writin for the press | A |
An yer huntin arter copy well I ve heer d o that I guess | A |
You are gorn ter write a story that is gorn ter be yer best | B |
Bout the blunders an advenchers ov a new chum in the west | B |
An you would be very thankful an acknowledge any hint | C |
Well I karn t say as I hankers fur ter see my name in print | C |
But I know a little story an I ll tell it out ov hand | D |
If yer ll put it down in writin that the swells kin understand | D |
It s a story ov a new chum and a story ov the land | D |
- | |
- | |
He had lately kum from Ingland you cud tell it by s cap | E |
Fur kerlonial exper ence an he got it too poor chap | E |
Twas in town he met the squatter an he asked as if in fun | F |
If the boss ud want a flunkey or a coachy on the run | F |
Well it riz the boss s dander an he jumps clean orf is oss | G |
Now me fresh sweet scented beauty watyer giv nus sez the boss | H |
I hev met yer kidney often an yer mighty fresh an free | I |
But yer needn t think yer gorn ter come a lardin over me | I |
- | |
- | |
But the new chum sed that onest he was lookin for a job | J |
An in spite of his appearance he had blued is bottom bob | J |
An as beggars karn t be choosers same as people wot are rich | K |
Said he d go as stoo rd or gard ner but he warn t partickler which | K |
Well the joker seemed in earnest so the boss began ter cool | L |
An he only blanked the new chum for a thund rin jumpt up fool | L |
Then he sed Well there s the fencin if yer ll tramp it up from Perth | M |
The boys ll find yer su thin p r aps an giv yer wat yer worth | M |
- | |
- | |
Ov course the squatter never thort ter see im any more | N |
But he wa n t the kind ov new chum that the squatter tuk im for | N |
No he wa n t the kind er cockeroach that on y kums ter shirk | O |
That wants ter git the sugar but is fri tened ov the work | O |
For he sold is watch n jool ry n lardi dardy suits | P |
Stuck a swag upon his shoulder n is feet in blucher boots | P |
An I dunno how he did it he was anythin but strong | Q |
But he umped his bluey ninety mile an kum to Bunglelong | Q |
- | |
He earnt is pound and tucker borin holes an runnin wire | R |
An he d work from dawn to sunset an he never seemed to tire | R |
But he must have suffered orful from the tucker an the heat | S |
An the everlastin trampin made im tender in the feet | S |
An he must hev thort ov England w en the everlastin flies | T |
Ware a worrit worrit worrit an a knawin at is eyes | T |
An he used to swear like thunder w en the yaller sergeant ants | U |
Took a mornin stroll promiscus on the inside ov is pants | U |
- | |
He uster make is damper six or seven inches thick | Q |
It was doughey on the inside an the shell was like a brick | Q |
An while the damper made im dream ov days ov long ago | Q |
The little boodie rats ud kum an nibble out the dough | Q |
He biled is taters soggy an is junk was biled to rags | V |
The little boodie rats ud kum an chew s tucker bags | V |
But he took is troubles cheerful an he fixed em like a pome | I |
An writ em in his darey to amuse the folks at home | I |
- | |
At first he flashed a coller an was keerful with is hat | W |
An he d black is boots ov Sundays but he soon grew out of that | W |
An he lernt ter bake is damper an he leant to bile is junk | Q |
An sleep without a getting up all night ter shake is bunk | Q |
He soon got out ov takin shorter cuts across the flats | X |
An he learnt to fling ole bottles to the sorror of the rats | X |
An learnt to sling kerlonial and like the bushman s way | Y |
An it did us good to see im smoke is nigger in a clay | Y |
- | |
He would sing an play is fiddle when we gathered round the blaze | Z |
Till ole Frenchy got excited while he d play the Mascylays | Z |
An Bill ud take is hat off while he d spout the Light Brigade | A2 |
An Scotchy got oneasy when the Bony Ills was played | A2 |
So we got ter like the new chum for we d met with many wuss | Z |
An we made it easy for im an he seemed to take to us | Z |
The toilin an the trampin was a cookin im we found | B2 |
So we made im cook an stoo rd just ter keep the chap around | B2 |
- | |
Well the months went bakin broilin on until Christmas nex | Z |
When we tramped it down to Perth to spend our ollyday and cheques | Z |
But Possum sed he d save is tin an stay and mind the camp | C2 |
So we left im in possession an we started on our tramp | C2 |
We useter call im Possum but for short we called im Poss | Z |
For is eyes was black an twinklin and a little chap he was | Z |
We never would have left im if we d know d but that s the ru | D2 |
Comin back we found im dyin in is gunyah in the scrub | E2 |
- | |
We fixed im up an nursed im but we seen without a doubt | F2 |
That consumption was the matter an the chap was peggin out | F2 |
But the lion heart inside im was as strong an stout as six | Z |
An while he d smile an thank us he would joke about is fix | Z |
An he said twas very jolly to be dry nursed in a tent | G2 |
An he reckoned that the Christmas was the best he d ever spent | G2 |
He would talk of ome and Inglan when is head began ter swim | I |
But he never blamed the country that had been so ard on him | I |
- | |
He would say I like the country if a feller s blind er halt | H2 |
Or if he s got konsumption why it ain t the country s fault | H2 |
The tea that s boil d in billies is far sweeter stuff I know | Q |
Than the cursed drink w at blasted all my chances long ago | Q |
I would hev cum out sooner if it was my destiny | I |
An I daresay that the country would have made a man ov me | I |
But w at s the good ov energy an wat s the good er push | I2 |
W en a feller s sick an dyin in a gunyah in the bush | I2 |
- | |
But he tole me all about it as I sat beside is bunk | Q |
How he d spent is tin in Melbourne an was allers gettin drunk | Q |
How he thort he d take it easy while he had a little gold | J2 |
And before he turned the new leaf how he scribbled on the old | J2 |
An among a lot ov nonsense w en is mind began to drift | K2 |
He told me that the new leaf was a heavy leaf to lift | K2 |
But w ats the good er writin this it s nothin very new | D2 |
The land will see enough ov it an suffer for it too | D2 |
An he said w en he was dying when his lung was spit away | Y |
An we all was standin round im in the gunyah where he lay | Y |
An he said I ve watched the sunset when the wind began to woosh | I2 |
Like a layer ov coals a glowin on the dark bed ov the bush | I2 |
An I felt my fingers slippin slippin slowly from the ropes | Z |
Wen the West was cold like ashes like the ashes of my hopes | Z |
An I Sit beside me Peter let me old a bushman s hand | D |
For I m gorn to ump my bluey through the gates ov Newchumland | D |
Henry Lawson
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
Write your comment about Possum A Lay Of New Chumland poem by Henry Lawson
Best Poems of Henry Lawson