Camden Poplars
Old soldiers these, their lances guarding land
Purloined from tribe and tilled by convict hand.
Macarthur’s sheep they pierced and prodded back
With solid shafts of shadow golden-black.
Till trade took root upon Nepean’s banks
And profit bloomed beyond the stick of reason.
The aspens drop their arms in sagging ranks –
The river floods regardless of the season –
The river floods and with appropriate thanks
I wake and work some conscientious treason.
Bright spear of peace that seldom suburb has.
The spire of Camden church now guards the trees.
I smile, my irksome day accomplished, as
Their hands bid welcome, waving in the breeze.
About this poem
We lived in Camden, which is a country satellite town south-west of Sydney. My husband and I loved the way the trees welcomed us home each night.
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Submitted by susannaelliott on April 14, 2024
- 34 sec read
- 105 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABB CDCDCD EFEF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 645 |
Words | 114 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 6, 4 |
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"Camden Poplars" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/185294/camden-poplars>.
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