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AWARD WINNING POEMS
SONGS OF THE SEA
Edel Wignell ©
Commended, Scribbligum 'Gum Blossoms' Poetry Competition, 2007, and first published on the Scribbligum website: www.scribbligum.com
Down through the centuries, mariners reported
An elusive sea serpent, sinuous and long,
With a series of humps and a horse-like head,
Cruising the waves, singing a song.
As I swim in the sea
The waves whinny stories to me.
The ancient Greeks all worshipped Poseidon -
Elderly god ruling the ocean,
Carrying a trident, astride a dolphin,
Riding the waves with stately motion.
As I sail on the sea
The white caps roar stories to me.
The sea-god Triton, son of Poseidon -
Body of a fish and head of a man -
Blows into a shell, and its trumpeting voice
Has resounded forever since time began.
As I dive in the sea
The deep echoes stories to me.
A mermaid - young, in love with a prince -
On the shore, in hope, abandons her tail.
He marries another and the mermaid in grief
Dissolves in the air, doomed to fail.
As I paddle by the sea
The sands wail stories to me.
THE GUYRA POLTERGEIST
Edel Wignell ©
Read on 'The Poetry of the People', North Shore Radio FM 91.5, Sydney 1987; Commended, Centorfold 3 Poetry Competition, 1998; Highly Commended, Grampians Writers' Group Literary Awards, 2007; Highly Commended, Ena Taylor Literary Awards (Peter Cowan Writers Centre, WA), 2007.
Highly Commended in the Eyre Writers Awards, Rhyming Poetry, 2008. The judge commented: A true ballad which trips along delightfully without a blemish. The repetition of the third line in each verse ties the story together. Would be fun to read aloud.
Note:
Poltergeists are noisy spirits common in British folklore, but rare in Australia. When strange rapping noises were heard in a house, people knew that a poltergeist lived with them. It moved furniture, knocked mirrors, pictures and vases out of place, and even shook the house.
The Guyra Poltergeist is the only one known in Australia. During 1921 its activities were reported in many newspapers. It was active in the house of a railway ganger, his wife and family who lived in Guyra in central New South Wales. Twelve-year-old Minnie, the oldest child, was the only member of the house who was not afraid. Soon everyone in the town was involved, trying to discover what caused the rapping on the walls.
Some of the reports said that Minnie's step-sister May, who had recently died, gave Minnie a message to their mother, and then the rapping stopped. Some said that Minnie was taken to her grandparents' place in another town. No one knows exactly what happened.
Some of the details were included in Anne Bower Ingram's Shudders and Shakes: Ghostly Tales from Australia, William Collins, Sydney, 1972.
The following ballad is based on many different versions reported in newspapers during 1921. The last four lines are supposition.
Down Guyra way in New South Wales
A poltergeist was heard,
Rapping, knocking on the walls,
Until the whole town stirred.
Way back in nineteen twenty-one,
A ganger and his wife
With children small, and Minnie - twelve,
Were victims of the strife.
Soon every window of their house
Was smashed, but still the sound
Of rapping, knocking on the walls
Continued to confound.
Then stones fell into Minnie's room,
Landing on the bed,
But Minnie, tall and thin and dark,
Did not shrink with dread.
Police found footprints round the house.
'There's lads who'll terrorize
With rapping, knocking on the walls,
We'll cut them down to size!'
They tried to calm the people down,
They questioned Minnie, too;
She knew the questions they would ask,
And looked, not at, but through!
Police and volunteers kept watch,
The mystery to solve,
Of rapping, knocking on the walls:
'The lads it must involve.'
That night, indeed, while stones were still,
The knocks went on - no doubt!
'Outside!' said people in the house,
And 'In!' said those without.
'Someone reaches out to Min
With message from the dead,
By rapping, knocking on the walls.
Answer it!' they said.
Then Minnie heard step-sister, May,
Answering her call.
'Tell mother dear I'm happy now
And watching over all.'
Now mystery surrounds the tale,
With different versions told
Of rapping, knocking on the walls
And spirits uncontrolled.
And when the house goes up for sale,
Folks cannot be enticed
To buy, for everyone still dreads
The Guyra Poltergeist.
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