Ballad of a changing land

• Svenja Von dietze, Grade 9
• Poetry
• 2004

The rocky plains and desert land, the rivers white with foam
Bush trails stretching miles and miles; those stockmen once did roam
They rode all day into the sun, then turned on sunset and went back
To their wives at home who had no choice; they rode there in the black

But slowly life was changing; time would turn in years a few
And things would never be cosy, not like the life they knew
She would get her chance, her say; Natives finally could be there
She would not have to work all day, and wouldn’t have to raise her hair

And now life is different for us all, we accept all walks of life
Our kind and generous nature may one day lead to strife
But for now we can rest assured - as a whole we are within
The boundaries of global plight, for kindness and caring cannot sin