The Teams

Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)




A cloud of dust on the long white road,
 And the teams go creeping on
Inch by inch with the weary load;
And by the power of the green-hide goad
 The distant goal is won.
 
With eyes half-shut to the blinding dust,
 And necks to the yokes bent low,
The beasts are pulling as bullocks must;
And the shining tires might almost rust
 While the spokes are turning slow.
 
With face half-hid 'neath a broad-brimmed hat
 That shades from the heat's white waves,
And shouldered whip with its green-hide plait,
The driver plods with a gait like that
 Of his weary, patient slaves.
 
He wipes his brow, for the day is hot,
 And spits to the left with spite;
He shouts at `Bally', and flicks at `Scot',
And raises dust from the back of `Spot',
 And spits to the dusty right.
 
He'll sometimes pause as a thing of form
 In front of a settler's door,
And ask for a drink, and remark `It's warm,
Or say `There's signs of a thunder-storm';
 But he seldom utters more.
 
But the rains are heavy on roads like these;
 And, fronting his lonely home,
For weeks together the settler sees
The teams bogged down to the axletrees,
 Or ploughing the sodden loam.
 
And then when the roads are at their worst,
 The bushman's children hear
The cruel blows of the whips reversed
While bullocks pull as their hearts would burst,
 And bellow with pain and fear.
 
And thus with little of joy or rest
 Are the long, long journeys done;
And thus -- 'tis a cruel war at the best --
Is distance fought in the mighty West,
 And the lonely battles won.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:26 min read
94

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXAAB CDCCD EFXEF XGAAG HIHHI JKJFK LXLLX MBMMB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,518
Words 281
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson 17 June 1867 - 2 September 1922 was an Australian writer and poet Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period more…

All Henry Lawson poems | Henry Lawson Books

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