Dear Henry

23 Sep 2017

Kevin Pye from the Probus Club of Mudgee penned this ode to Sir Henry Lawson in honour of the Australian poet’s 150th birthday.

 

Happy birthday Henry mate,

it has been a long, long time

since you were born at Grenfell

with your gift for prose and rhyme.

 

One hundred years and fifty

is a milestone worthy yet –

I write in recognition

how I wish that we had met.

I’m sitting in the sunshine

of an early winter’s day,

where a roadside chimney stands

out along Eurunderee way.

 

A flagstone fence surrounds it

with a plaque that bears your name,

in the hope that those who visit

might know something of your fame.

 

The chimney of your childhood

is preserved upon the site,

where your father built the house

when gold fever spread its might.

I wonder if you’d counsel

those who desecrate the place?

Would your elder visage frown

from your kindly, lovelorn face?

 

Today I come to visit

to reflect upon your lines,

spawned by old Eurunderee’s

whispering oaks and hillside pines.

 

I’ve just returned from Gulgong

where we sing your praises still

and this afternoon I’ll spend time

at your school site on the hill.

 

The rhythm of your verses

fi nd your words turned into song

that live in tunes immortal

where your ballads all belong.

 

We try our hands at writing

on our subjects so diverse,

always hoping to aspire

to your skill with prose and verse.

 

We might share lunch with Mitchell,

Harry Dale and other mates

whose ghosts are tramping outback

where you chronicled their fates.

 

Your pathos and your humour

and your life so often low,

forever stirs emotions –

Do you think we do not know?

 

Here I end my small tribute

to the literature unfurled

by your circumstantial trials

in a harsh and drunken world.

 

God bless you Henry Lawson,

gifted poet, raconteur;

I salute the achievements

of the genius you were.

 

Kevin is now in the running to win our next Annual Award for Literary Excellence and $300 worth of books, courtesy of

Hachette Australia. Want to enter?

EMAIL: [email protected]

POST: Smile, Active Retirees, 369a

Darling Street, Balmain, NSW, 2041