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 ZZDD

SO YER trav lin for yer pleasure while yer writin for the pressA
An yer huntin arter copy well I ve heer d o that I guessA
You are gorn ter write a story that is gorn ter be yer bestB
Bout the blunders an advenchers ov a new chum in the westB
An you would be very thankful an acknowledge any hintC
Well I karn t say as I hankers fur ter see my name in printC
But I know a little story an I ll tell it out ov handD
If yer ll put it down in writin that the swells kin understandD
It s a story ov a new chum and a story ov the landD
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He had lately kum from Ingland you cud tell it by s capE
Fur kerlonial exper ence an he got it too poor chapE
Twas in town he met the squatter an he asked as if in funF
If the boss ud want a flunkey or a coachy on the runF
Well it riz the boss s dander an he jumps clean orf is ossG
Now me fresh sweet scented beauty watyer giv nus sez the bossH
I hev met yer kidney often an yer mighty fresh an freeI
But yer needn t think yer gorn ter come a lardin over meI
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But the new chum sed that onest he was lookin for a jobJ
An in spite of his appearance he had blued is bottom bobJ
An as beggars karn t be choosers same as people wot are richK
Said he d go as stoo rd or gard ner but he warn t partickler whichK
Well the joker seemed in earnest so the boss began ter coolL
An he only blanked the new chum for a thund rin jumpt up foolL
Then he sed Well there s the fencin if yer ll tramp it up from PerthM
The boys ll find yer su thin p r aps an giv yer wat yer worthM
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Ov course the squatter never thort ter see im any moreN
But he wa n t the kind ov new chum that the squatter tuk im forN
No he wa n t the kind er cockeroach that on y kums ter shirkO
That wants ter git the sugar but is fri tened ov the workO
For he sold is watch n jool ry n lardi dardy suitsP
Stuck a swag upon his shoulder n is feet in blucher bootsP
An I dunno how he did it he was anythin but strongQ
But he umped his bluey ninety mile an kum to BunglelongQ
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He earnt is pound and tucker borin holes an runnin wireR
An he d work from dawn to sunset an he never seemed to tireR
But he must have suffered orful from the tucker an the heatS
An the everlastin trampin made im tender in the feetS
An he must hev thort ov England w en the everlastin fliesT
Ware a worrit worrit worrit an a knawin at is eyesT
An he used to swear like thunder w en the yaller sergeant antsU
Took a mornin stroll promiscus on the inside ov is pantsU
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He uster make is damper six or seven inches thickQ
It was doughey on the inside an the shell was like a brickQ
An while the damper made im dream ov days ov long agoQ
The little boodie rats ud kum an nibble out the doughQ
He biled is taters soggy an is junk was biled to ragsV
The little boodie rats ud kum an chew s tucker bagsV
But he took is troubles cheerful an he fixed em like a pomeI
An writ em in his darey to amuse the folks at homeI
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At first he flashed a coller an was keerful with is hatW
An he d black is boots ov Sundays but he soon grew out of thatW
An he lernt ter bake is damper an he leant to bile is junkQ
An sleep without a getting up all night ter shake is bunkQ
He soon got out ov takin shorter cuts across the flatsX
An he learnt to fling ole bottles to the sorror of the ratsX
An learnt to sling kerlonial and like the bushman s wayY
An it did us good to see im smoke is nigger in a clayY
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He would sing an play is fiddle when we gathered round the blazeZ
Till ole Frenchy got excited while he d play the MascylaysZ
An Bill ud take is hat off while he d spout the Light BrigadeA2
An Scotchy got oneasy when the Bony Ills was playedA2
So we got ter like the new chum for we d met with many wussZ
An we made it easy for im an he seemed to take to usZ
The toilin an the trampin was a cookin im we foundB2
So we made im cook an stoo rd just ter keep the chap aroundB2
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Well the months went bakin broilin on until Christmas nexZ
When we tramped it down to Perth to spend our ollyday and chequesZ
But Possum sed he d save is tin an stay and mind the campC2
So we left im in possession an we started on our trampC2
We useter call im Possum but for short we called im PossZ
For is eyes was black an twinklin and a little chap he wasZ
We never would have left im if we d know d but that s the ruD2
Comin back we found im dyin in is gunyah in the scrubE2
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We fixed im up an nursed im but we seen without a doubtF2
That consumption was the matter an the chap was peggin outF2
But the lion heart inside im was as strong an stout as sixZ
An while he d smile an thank us he would joke about is fixZ
An he said twas very jolly to be dry nursed in a tentG2
An he reckoned that the Christmas was the best he d ever spentG2
He would talk of ome and Inglan when is head began ter swimI
But he never blamed the country that had been so ard on himI
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He would say I like the country if a feller s blind er haltH2
Or if he s got konsumption why it ain t the country s faultH2
The tea that s boil d in billies is far sweeter stuff I knowQ
Than the cursed drink w at blasted all my chances long agoQ
I would hev cum out sooner if it was my destinyI
An I daresay that the country would have made a man ov meI
But w at s the good ov energy an wat s the good er pushI2
W en a feller s sick an dyin in a gunyah in the bushI2
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But he tole me all about it as I sat beside is bunkQ
How he d spent is tin in Melbourne an was allers gettin drunkQ
How he thort he d take it easy while he had a little goldJ2
And before he turned the new leaf how he scribbled on the oldJ2
An among a lot ov nonsense w en is mind began to driftK2
He told me that the new leaf was a heavy leaf to liftK2
But w ats the good er writin this it s nothin very newD2
The land will see enough ov it an suffer for it tooD2
An he said w en he was dying when his lung was spit awayY
An we all was standin round im in the gunyah where he layY
An he said I ve watched the sunset when the wind began to wooshI2
Like a layer ov coals a glowin on the dark bed ov the bushI2
An I felt my fingers slippin slippin slowly from the ropesZ
Wen the West was cold like ashes like the ashes of my hopesZ
An I Sit beside me Peter let me old a bushman s handD
For I m gorn to ump my bluey through the gates ov NewchumlandD

Henry Lawson



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