Did you ever waken early, in the newborn frosted light,
Hear stones a-tumbling in a creek and Wonga take to flight.
Did you ever wrap your hands around a tin-cup to keep warm,
As you watched the mist that rises over wetlands with the dawn.
Did you ever sit on mossy ground, your back against a tree,
And marvel there for hours, at all that you could see.
Breezes rippling through tall grasses, clouds that gather on the hills,
Wedge-tails spiralling for hours, Peewees bombing them for thrills.
Have you seen the blacksnake basking, in the first light of the day,
Have you smiled at little piles of thorns, that waddle ‘cross your way.
And when you knelt to drink your fill, from a pristine mountain stream,
Did you see the hunter looking back, unshaven tall and lean.
Did you recognise his hunger, did you question his right to kill,
Should you linger any longer, is his prey’s blood yours to spill.
And somewhere half detected in the corner of your eye,
Was your father’s face reflected, framed by a clear blue sky.
Did you feel him squeeze your shoulder, gently ruffle-up your hair,
With the shadows growing longer, were you sure you felt him there.
All the hunting yarns he’d told, were they echoed on the breeze,
Did the hunter’s arm enfold you, and put your doubts at ease.
Yes you feel the link eternal, that courses through your veins,
And you hear the ancient echoes, in the valleys hills and plains.
'Twas a sacred ageless legacy that drew you here this day,
And you’ll walk this land with honour, for that’s the hunters’ way.
- G. Mallard 2014
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I cried when I read this. It could be about me and my dad spending time together hunting and fishing. Every time I go hunting I have that moment at a pristine mountain stream and it reminds me why I am there and the legacy I betray if I do the wrong thing.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. This is the only hunting poem I have ever seen that is written by an Aussie (?) for Aussie hunters. I hope its ok if I copy The Hunters Way and have it framed.
Same here,Cam powerful stuff, eh ?
DeleteMate if i had this when my dad died I would of carved it on his head stone. His example made me really proud to be an Aussie. Cheers
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