Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A BUSH PROBLEM, by J. A. MUIRHEAD First Line: The price I paid for darkey? Well, I'm blowed if I can tell Last Line: An' let me know exactly what he cost. Subject(s): Animals; Horses; Trade | ||||||||
THE price I paid for Darkey? Well, I'm blowed if I can tell, Becos' I got him dealin'; you see, boss, I was always fond of dealin'as a boy I'd buy or sell With any other kid I came across. You're a scholar; you can reckon up his figure from the start: I bought a mare at Maffra, bay, bob-tail; She cost me seven sovereigns and was branded with a heart Near shoulder. Well, I rode her down to Sale An' there I met a feller on a big upstandin' roan, I swapped the mare for him. He didn't suit; His owner from his back had twice that very day been thrown; I had to give him three pounds ten to boot. Throw me off? No, not exactly. Though he tried it for a while, But dropped it when he found it was no go; Then I traded for a trotter that could do a level mile In three minutes seven secondsthat ain't slow! But I didn't swap him level; I put a saddle down That cost three notesreceiving thirty bob An' a watch I raffled aftertwenty members at a crown; An' then I swapped the trotter for a cob A natty little chestnut, but I bartered him off quick For a skewbald an' a gun: I let her go For a fiery little black horse that had got a nasty trick Of kickin' every time he got a show. That gun was worth a fiver. I travelled round a bit An' got another chestnut for the black, An' a bridle worth ten shillin's; the chestnut was real grit, A well-bred, showy model of a hack. But I traded her for Darkey, an' a prize retriever-pup But travellin' down to Toora it got lost. I got eight notes for Darkey, so, boss, reckon all that up An' let me know exactly what he cost. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PRICE OF WOMEN by KAREN SWENSON BLUE CANTON-WARE by SARAH A. ATHEARN MERCHANT ADVENTURERS (WITH ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO SIMEON STRUNSKY) by BERTON BRALEY DIGGING POTATERS IN VERMONT by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY SELLING A COW IN VERMONT by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 4. A TRADE by EDWARD CARPENTER SWEET MEAT HAS SOUR SAUCE; OR, THE SLAVE-TRADER IN THE DUMPS by WILLIAM COWPER THE FLEECE: BOOK 2 by JOHN DYER |
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