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Outback Shearing Shed

I'll bet this set of rusty shears have a story they could tell, of the loneliness and broken backs in a land that's hot as hell, where hopes and dreams mirrored lives that these shearers led, here among the ruins of an outback-shearing shed. I'll bet this set of rusty shears have a story often told, in optimistic mirages where water is pure as gold, and living quarters offered would barely shield the moon in stifling heat of summer, or bitter cold in June. All that's left is one wall teasing, the wind to blow it down. Mustering yards are overgrown; mulga posts lie on the ground. There's hand-made nails, broken rails, memories that are spread, here among the ruins of an outback shearing shed. I feel like I'm intruding out here on the western plains, standing here in a ghostly wind where it hardly ever rains, imagining I lived the life that these shearers led, in the ruins with the ghosts of an outback shearing shed. All that's left is one wall teasing, the wind to blow it down. Mustering yards are overgrown; mulga posts lie on the ground. Oil tins and sharpening stone, broken glass is widely spread here among the ruins of an outback shearing shed. I'll bet this set of rusty shears have a story they could tell, of the loneliness and broken backs in a land that's hot as hell, where hopes and dreams preceded lives that these shearers led, here among the ruins of an outback-shearing shed.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2015




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Date: 5/14/2021 9:33:00 AM
Hi Lindsay ... Really great poem, you certainly are a very talented poet with a lovely rustic and authentic style all of your own. Please do keep writing and sharing your lovely poetry Clive :)
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Date: 5/6/2020 8:18:00 AM
Lindsay, There is an unforgettable, haunting tone to this. I haven't been able to resist reading it over and over again. I feel as if I were there--in the outback shearing shed. Thank you for a marvelous composition. Hugs, Paul
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 5/15/2020 9:16:00 PM
Hello Paul … I was there observing this decaying history. It was on an outback station miles from any other buildings. I could barely believe how shearers could ever find this shed. Thank you for such a positive comment Paul - Lindsay
Date: 8/4/2019 5:39:00 AM
Very enjoyable reading of a subject not often written. Have done some travelling around outback Australia including old shearing sheds from early days and spoke to farmers and their yarns of past stories and characters. A very challenging life style.
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 8/7/2019 2:01:00 AM
Hello Edmund … this shed made of stone was east of Mootwingee state park. It was so isolated there and I couldn't help but wonder how the shearers ever found it. They do make great storytellers in the real outback - thank you Edmund - Lindsay
Date: 4/3/2019 8:40:00 PM
Hi, I am doing an analysis of this poem for school. Any advice? A backstory would be great. Thanks so much! Tilly
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 4/12/2019 11:03:00 PM
G'day there Tilly Ne … yes, I can certainly give you an insight into how I came to write this poem, but it may be too long for what is allowed even in soup mail. An email address would help - Lindsay
Date: 3/4/2016 11:32:00 PM
Oh, my gosh, this is superb . . . a textbook example of how to tell a story rich in poetic music, in nostalgia, and in culture. Exceptional, Lindsay!
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 3/18/2016 1:13:00 AM
Thanks Paul ... I can still see myself amazed at what was around me. Perhaps one hundred years of dilapidated history - Lindsay
Date: 1/26/2016 3:34:00 PM
I love old ruins that seem to be imbued with the spirits of those who filled it with life. You capture with the perfect measure of nostalgia, SuZ
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 1/26/2016 7:47:00 PM
G'day Suzanne ... thanks for reading and commenting. I found it hard to imagine what life must have been like where these ruins are ... just so harsh was the country - thanks Suzanne - Lindsay
Date: 1/9/2016 3:04:00 PM
I like your humorous poems, Lindsay, but this one has a special beauty of its own, in which nostalgia takes centre stage. My grandfather had sheep and goats on the farm. Shears were used to cut the wool; we then took it to the beach where we washed it in sea water and left it to dry on the rocks before packing it in sacks. I still have blankets made out of our own sheep wool. // paul
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 1/10/2016 5:07:00 PM
Hello Paul ... yours is a great comment Paul through explaining a different method to prepare the wool. Where these ruins are; six inches is the annual rainfall so there's no spare water. Those blankets must hold good memories Paul - Lindsay
Date: 1/9/2016 2:04:00 PM
Shearing is a hard demanding job. There is an old 80 stand shed that I have seen and I can only but imagine the sights and sounds of what would it have been like in it's hey day. Sheep grinding their teeth, the snip snip snip of the blades and the ultimate silence in the shed, and men and dogs working outside in the yards. I have been fortunate to be in a shed with half a dozen shearers on the blades and it's surreal. Unfortunately it is a dying art here now as the handpiece takes over. A fav
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 1/10/2016 5:00:00 PM
G'day Mark ... this station is 95.000 acres with a state of the art shed now. On the day we came across these ruins, we drove 117k and never left the station boundary. Thanks for your great comment Mark - Lindsay
Date: 1/8/2016 10:14:00 PM
Rustic and very descriptive images evoked of abandoned dreams in hostile land and time. Settlers faced hardships we could never hope to survive in our cushy and sheltered lives! Sold 7 on this one and adding to my fav list as it reminds of the hardships my great, great grandparents suffered here in this new land so long ago.
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 1/10/2016 4:55:00 PM
Hello Robert ... what got to me was; how could anyone survive where these ruins are. Oh yes, our pioneering forefathers certainly done it tough - thank you Robert
Date: 1/8/2016 5:34:00 PM
This poem sings from the page and reminds me of "The Cremation of Sam McGee", by Robert W. Service. Very well written, with a story that keeps the reader interested to the very end. Emile. #7
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 1/10/2016 4:51:00 PM
Thanks again for your support Emile. I will search for the poem - Lindsay
Date: 1/7/2016 5:58:00 AM
Nice repetition of the first verse. Great piece of bush poetry. You capture that Ozzie voice wonderfully. Good onya mate.
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Lindsay Laurie
Date: 1/10/2016 4:49:00 PM
Hello Scott ... thanks for commenting mate. These ruins are truly in the middle of nowhere in the harshest of country - Lindsay

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