Thoughts on a photograph

11-08-2010 | Contributor

I've seen a lot of Stations

In my travels far and near,

But there's a certain little homestead

In a gully I hold dear;

Where the birch trees sigh at evening,

As the Nor'west stirs on high,

And the stags roar from the ridgelines

‘Neath the darkening blood red sky.

There's a touch of autumn sadness,

(That is mirrored in my heart)

When you see the leaves are turning,

And that Winter's made a start.

And the short cold days are coming

With the frosty drawn out nights,

But there's a cheery fire ablazing,

And the homestead's friendly lights.

A stag roars from the bushline

That follows round the hill,

And the ice is slowly forming

On the sparkling spring-fed rill;

And the geese are wheeling high above

In formation they will go

As they head out East to warmer climes

In time to beat the snow.

The sheep are drifting aimlessly,

They sense a change is nigh,

They've been mustered from the basins

And the summer pastures high,

To the safer lower country

‘Till the spring will bring a thaw,

And their wandering instincts lead them

To the rocky tops once more.

The ghosts of many people

Are stirring in their graves,

And like those now here living,

To the mountains they were slaves

Old musterers and teamsters

And packies they would roam,

The miners and the drifters

And the girls that made the home.

There's deer cullers and fencers

Blacksmiths and the rest

The mountaineers and trampers,

All were put to the test.

To cross the swollen rivers

And scale the peaks on high,

And see the awesome splendour

Of a starry mountain sky.

When the last long muster's over

And it's time for me to rest,

I'll take this weary body

To the place I love the best.

To hear the river roaring

In a pent-up mountain flood,

And the wild old Nor'west howling,

You get it in the blood.

As the Lord then sits in judgement

I hope that there will be,

Somewhere in these valleys

A little place for me.

• This poem, from the book Different Worlds, by Jim Morris, was read at Donald Burnett's funeral. The book can be ordered from Jim Morris, Ben Avon Station, Private Bag, Omarama, North Otago 9448. It costs $11 and all proceeds go to the Cancer Society Support Services.

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