Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Australia or New Zealand (01/15/09)
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TITLE: The Pankhurst Boy | Previous Challenge Entry
By Melanie Kerr
01/21/09 -
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And but a lad
Deep down inside
I wasn’t bad
The Law sowed seeds
Of poverty
Into the lives
Of boys like me
Forced to steal
I snatched some bread
The felon’s path
Impelled to tread
Pursued and caught
I had my trial
I faced my judge
His face hostile
To Pankhurst Prison
I was sent
Days and nights
In sorrow spent
Overcrowding
Lice and fleas
Bestowed on some
A foul disease
Australia was
A virgin land
Labourers
Were in demand
A Pankhurst boy
Could meet the need
And from my prison
I was freed
“Apprentice” was
What I was called
On to a ship
They had me hauled
My tears unchecked
My cries ignored
So swiftly was I
Stashed on board
I sat in chains
In stinking hold
A new life would
For me unfold
Two hundred days
Of endless sea
Towards an unknown
Destiny
And all the while
Such tales were told
Of wondrous beasts
I would behold
Animals
That hopped so high
Birds than ran
But couldn’t fly
Ghosts that roamed
The desert land
When stopped, upon
One leg they’d stand
I hovered ‘twixt
Despair and hope
Did I possess
The means to cope?
A brand new start
Where I could be
The person that
Was truly me?
I dropped my head
And closed my eyes
And prayed to God
Who e’er supplies
I heard His voice
So soft, so mild
Imagined that
On me he smiled
“Be my son
And take my hand
Together we’ll
Explore this land.”
Author’s note: Parkhurst Prison is situated on the Isle of Wight. In 1805 it became a prison for boys awaiting deportation, mainly to Australia.
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I'd say that this is one of my favorites this week. It was crafted well and told a unique story.
Really enjoyed this one. Well done! :)