When the sun has been hot on the sand, And the day has been weary and long,And the last load is dumped at the siding, And the team doesn"t want any guiding-Then the crickets chirp up with a song, And a sweetness comes over the land.
And the plover comes over the plain With a flap and a check and a run,While the cool, scented breath of the hollow Seems to call to the twilight to followAnd to whisper "Good-bye " to the sun As he dips in the west once again.
And it"s oh for the turn of the track And the next hill but one to our own,Where there"s some one who waits for the rattle Of the wagon and harness and cattle,And the clang of the wheel on the stone
As I pass by the way, coming back.
There"s an eye like an emu"s to gleam With the flash and the flame of a star,When it catches a glimpse through the mallee, On the opposite side of the valley,Where the great golden-wattle trees are, Of a man coming home with a team.
Charles H. Souter, in The Mallee Fire and Other Verses.
About the Author.-Charles H. Souter(soot"-"r) is an Australian writer who was born in Scotland, and who came here when a boy. He now lives in Adelaide. His poems have for many years been appearing in the Sydney Bulletin. Collections have come out in book form-Irish Lords, The Mallee Fire, and To Many Ladies.
About the Poem.-In the poem, what season of the year is it? What time of the day? Where is the scene laid? What birds and insects are mentioned? What kind of team was it? What was the probable load? Who had "an eye like an emu"s"? What do you think of the two lines about the plover? What kind of "hills" and "valleys" are there in the mallee country?
