Almanac Poetry: Fragments from the Lives of the Bushrangers
Fragments from the Lives of the Bushrangers
Tommy Clarke,
of the murderous Braidwood Clarkes,
easy in the saddle,
aboard the stolen racehorse, Boomerang,
posing for the photographer
Frank ‘Darkie’ Gardiner
low on the neck
of a horse in flat gallop,
unsuccessfully pursued by troopers
Joe Byrne strung up against the lockup, dead
Captain Moonlite fighting for his life
amid the blood and gunsmoke…
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
Kevin Densley’s latest poetry collection, Please Feed the Macaws…I’m Feeling Too Indolent, is available HERE
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About
Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His fifth book-length poetry collection, Please Feed the Macaws ... I'm Feeling Too Indolent, was published in late 2023 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, which was published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
Interesting dichotomy here Kevin.
Your poetry record the exploits of four infamous bushrangers, though the image highlights the death of another bushranger, one who escaped the writings of your lyrical pen.
Glen!
Thanks for the interesting comments, Glen.
Yes, the Ben Hall image was put there simply as an archetypal one, not to point to the poem specifically – more to provide a broad bushranging context. (Also, far less public domain images of various lesser known bushrangers are available to use.)