The Teams

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"The Teams"
by Henry Lawson
The Teams - illo.png
Illustration from original publication of "The Teams"
Written1889
First published in The Australian Town and Country Journal
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Publication date21 December 1889
Full text
Wikisource-logo.svg The Teams (Lawson) at Wikisource

The Teams is a poem by Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in the Australian Town and Country Journal on 21 December 1889. [1] It was later published in the poet's poetry collection In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses in 1896.

Contents

Illustration from original publication of "The Teams" The Teams - illo.png
Illustration from original publication of "The Teams"

Text

The text of the poem, as published in the Australian Town and Country Journal, is as follows: [1]

A cloud of dust on the long white road ;
And the teams go creeping on,
Inch by inch with the weary load ;
And by the power of the green-hide goad
The distant goal is won.
With eyes half-shut from the blinding dust,
And necks to the yokes bent low,
The beasts are pulling as bullocks must,
Till the shining rims of the tire-rings rust ;
While the spokes are turning slow.
With face half hid 'neath a wide brimm'd hat
That shades from the heat's white waves,
And shoulder'd whip with its green-hide plat,
The driver plods with a gait like that
Of his weary, patient slaves.
He wipes his brow, for the day is hot,
And spits to the left with spite ;
He shouts at "Balley," and flicks at " Scot,"
And raises dust from the back of " Spot,"
And spits to the dusty right.
He'll sometimes pause as a thing of form
In front of a lonely door,
And ask for a drink, and remark " 'Tis warm,"
Or say "There's signs of a thunder-storm;"
But he seldom utters more.
But, ah ! there are other scenes than these ;
And, passing his lonely home,
For weeks together the bushman sees
The teams bogg'd down o'er the axletrees,
Or ploughing the sodden loam.
And then when the roads are at their, worst,
The bushman's children hear
The cruel blows of the whips revers'd
While bullocks pull as their hearts would burst,
And bellow with pain and fear.
And thus with little of joy or rest
Are the long, long journeys done ;
And thus—'tis a cruel war at the best—
Is distance fought in the lonely west,
And the lonely battles won.

Critical reception

In a review of the poet's collection In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses a writer in Freeman's Journal (Sydney) stated that "If one piece were to be chosen as an example of Mr. Lawson's quality as a writer of true bush ballads, the best piece is 'The Teams'". [2]

Further publications

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "THE TEAMS". Australian Town and Country Journal . Vol. XXXIX, no. 1040. New South Wales, Australia. 21 December 1889. p. 16. Retrieved 25 August 2019– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ The Freeman's Journal, 22 February 1896, p20
  3. ↑ "Selected Poems of Henry Lawson (A&R)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "Poems of Henry Lawson (Ure Smith)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "The World of Henry Lawson (Hamlyn)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "The Essential Henry Lawson (Currey O'Neil)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "A Campfire Yarn : Henry Lawson Complete Works 1885-1900 (Lansdowne)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Henry Lawson : An Illustrated Treasury (Lansdowne)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
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