Famous Kangaroo Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous Kangaroo poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous kangaroo poems. These examples illustrate what a famous kangaroo poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

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An Emu Hunt

by Andrew Barton Paterson
 West of Dubbo the west begins 
The land of leisure and hope and trust, 
Where the black man stalks with his dogs and gins 
And Nature visits the settlers' sins 
With the Bogan shower, that is mostly dust. 
When the roley-poley's roots dry out 
With the fierce hot winds and the want of rain, 
They come uprooted and bound...Read more of this...

The Ballad Of The Ice-Worm Cocktail

by Robert William Service
 To Dawson Town came Percy Brown from London on the Thames.
A pane of glass was in his eye, and stockings on his stems.
Upon the shoulder of his coat a leather pad he wore,
To rest his deadly rifle when it wasn't seeking gore;
The which it must have often been, for Major Percy Brown,
According to his story was a hunter of...Read more of this...

The Old Bark School

by Henry Lawson
 It was built of bark and poles, and the floor was full of holes 
Where each leak in rainy weather made a pool; 
And the walls were mostly cracks lined with calico and sacks – 
There was little need for windows in the school. 

Then we rode to school and back by the rugged gully-track, 
On the old grey...Read more of this...

The Reverend Mullineux

by Andrew Barton Paterson
 I'd reckon his weight as eight-stun-eight, 
And his height as five-foot-two, 
With a face as plain as an eight-day clock 
And a walk as brisk as a bantam-cock -- 
Game as a bantam, too, 
Hard and wiry and full of steam, 
That's the boss of the English Team, 
Reverend Mullineux! 

Makes no row when the game gets rough --...Read more of this...

Conroys Gap

by Andrew Barton Paterson
 This was the way of it, don't you know -- 
Ryan was "wanted" for stealing sheep, 
And never a trooper, high or low, 
Could find him -- catch a weasel asleep! 
Till Trooper Scott, from the Stockman's Ford -- 
A bushman, too, as I've heard them tell -- 
Chanced to find him drunk as a lord 
Round at the...Read more of this...

Mr. Philosopher

by Robert Graves
 Old Mr. Philosopher 
Comes for Ben and Claire, 
An ugly man, a tall man, 
With bright-red hair. 

The books that he’s written
No one can read. 
“In fifty years they’ll understand: 
Now there’s no need. 

“All that matters now 
Is getting the fun.
Come along, Ben and Claire; 
Plenty to be done.” 

Then old Philosopher, 
Wisest man alive, 
Plays at Lions...Read more of this...

Popcorn Glass Balls and Cranberries

by Vachel Lindsay
 I. THE LION

The Lion is a kingly beast.
He likes a Hindu for a feast.
And if no Hindu he can get,
The lion-family is upset.

He cuffs his wife and bites her ears
Till she is nearly moved to tears.
Then some explorer finds the den
And all is family peace again.


II. AN EXPLANATION OF THE GRASSHOPPER

The Grasshopper, the grasshopper,
I will explain to you:— 
He...Read more of this...

We Are Going

by Oodgeroo Noonuccal
 They came in to the little town 
A semi-naked band subdued and silent 
All that remained of their tribe. 
They came here to the place of their old bora ground 
Where now the many white men hurry about like ants. 
Notice of the estate agent reads: 'Rubbish May Be Tipped Here'. 
Now it half covers the traces of the...Read more of this...

The Jacket

by Rudyard Kipling
 Through the Plagues of Egyp' we was chasin' Arabi,
 Gettin' down an' shovin' in the sun;
An' you might 'ave called us dirty, an' you might ha' called us dry,
 An' you might 'ave 'eard us talkin' at the gun.
But the Captain 'ad 'is jacket, an' the jacket it was new --
 ('Orse Gunners, listen to my song!)
An' the wettin'...Read more of this...

Shit List; Or Omnium-gatherum Of Diversity Into Unity

by A R Ammons
 You'll rejoice at how many kinds of **** there are:
gosling **** (which J. Williams said something
was as green as), fish **** (the generality), trout

****, rainbow trout **** (for the nice), mullet ****,
sand dab ****, casual sloth ****, elephant ****
(awesome as process or payload), wildebeest ****,

horse **** (a favorite), caterpillar **** (so many dark
kinds, neatly pelleted as mint seed), baby...Read more of this...

The Mad Gardeners Song

by Lewis Carroll
 He thought he saw an Elephant,
That practised on a fife:
He looked again, and found it was
A letter from his wife.
'At length I realise,' he said,
The bitterness of Life!'

He thought he saw a Buffalo
Upon the chimney-piece:
He looked again, and found it was
His Sister's Husband's Niece.
'Unless you leave this house,' he said,
"I'll send for the Police!'

He thought he saw a Rattlesnake
That...Read more of this...

The Man from Goondiwindi Q

by Andrew Barton Paterson
 I 

This is the sunburnt bushman who 
Came down from Goondiwindi, Q. 

II 

This is the Push from Waterloo 
That spotted the sunburnt bushman who 
Came down from Goondiwindi, Q. 

III 

These are the wealthy uncles -- two, 
Part of the Push from Waterloo 
That spotted the sunburnt bushman who 
Came down from Goondiwindi, Q. 

IV 

This is the...Read more of this...

A Strange Wild Song

by Lewis Carroll
 He thought he saw an Elephant
That practised on a fife:
He looked again, and found it was
A letter from his wife.
"At length I realize," he said,
"The bitterness of life!"

He thought he saw a Buffalo
Upon the chimney-piece:
He looked again, and found it was
His Sister's Husband's Niece.
"Unless you leave this house," he said,
"I'll send for the police!"

he thought he saw a Rattlesnake
That...Read more of this...

Father Rileys Horse

by Andrew Barton Paterson
 'Twas the horse thief, Andy Regan, that was hunted like a dog 
By the troopers of the upper Murray side, 
They had searched in every gully -- they had looked in every log, 
But never sight or track of him they spied, 
Till the priest at Kiley's Crossing heard a knocking very late 
And a whisper "Father Riley --...Read more of this...

A Change of Menu

by Andrew Barton Paterson
 Now the new chum loaded his three-nought-three, 
It's a small-bore gun, but his hopes were big. 
"I am fed to the teeth with old ewe," said he, 
"And I might be able to shoot a pig." 
And he trusted more to his nose than ear 
To give him warning when pigs were near. 

Out of his lair in the...Read more of this...

A Walgett Episode

by Andrew Barton Paterson
 The sun strikes down with a blinding glare; 
The skies are blue and the plains are wide, 
The saltbush plains that are burnt and bare 
By Walgett out on the Barwon side -- 
The Barwon River that wanders down 
In a leisurely manner by Walgett Town. 
There came a stranger -- a "Cockatoo" -- 
The word means farmer, as...Read more of this...

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