Below The Snowy River is a reflective bush poem by Ben Eggleton that contrasts the crashing surf with memories of Australia’s High Country.
Standing beside the ocean, the narrator’s thoughts drift back to childhood stories, the Snowy Mountains, wild brumbies and the rugged country that inspired generations of Australian bush writers. It is a quiet tribute to both the landscape and the untamed spirit that still lives within it.
This poem is shared as part of Keeping The Verse Alive, Country Campfire’s bush poetry preservation project.
Below The Snowy River
by Ben Eggleton
I sit and watch the crashing of the waves,
Upon the rocky lined shore.
To think back to my childhood,
The stories I was told.
The things I had seen,
About the wild things, that roamed
The mountains, and the plains.
Can see quite plainly, the wildness
Of the turbulent seas.
Let my minds eye drift to the cold,
Cold, winter mornings,
Upon the mountains high,
Where flashing hooves, and flint are flying,
When they struck the stony shale.
Left dust, faintly rising in drifts,
To float away on the breeze.
The breath of those wild, mountain ponies
Coming in white streams.
Their withers flesh, foaming,
As they fled from the chasing riders,
Down the clefts and ravines,
Through the high plains country.
With their ears laid back, tails streaming,
The sounds of the lashes,
Driving them on at breakneck speed.
I think of them turning, bent, and cowed,
To the yards humans made.
Deep down, I am thankful, that
They will never tame the breaking
Of the waves upon the rocky shore.
The wildness they cannot conquer,
No matter how hard they try.
Ben Eggleton
From The Bard From The Scrub
Below The Snowy River is featured in Ben Eggleton’s poetry collection The Bard From The Scrub.
If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of the book, please contact Ben directly.
You can learn more about Ben, read more of his work and find his contact details on his Country Campfire contributor page.
Visit Ben Eggleton’s Country Campfire contributor page →
Preserved Through Keeping The Verse Alive
This poem is published with permission from Ben Eggleton and shared as part of Keeping The Verse Alive, Country Campfire’s bush poetry preservation project.
Poems, recitals, photographs, stories and original works remain the property of their original creator and are shared by Country Campfire with permission.
