Waler Poem – Rupertswood

A poem written by a student at Salesian College Rupertswood for a competition to win a place on the podium to read the poem at their 2017 ANZAC Day Service.

The reading on the day was a highlight of the event, as was the attendance by Waler mare Coolibah at the school’s Harvest Festival Day that October which coincided with the 100^th anniversary of the Battle of Beersheba, the last great cavalry charge.

Waler poem, Anzac Day 2017, Salesian College, Rupertswood, Victoria.
Written by year twelve student Alethea Barclay-Hilton

I watch these men,
I watch them writhe as steel shards shower,
I watch spirits fade as pain gains power,
I watch them smile for I am a glimpse of home.
I watch these men, I watch them

I hear these men,
I hear the cries of pain and pride
I hear the talk of strength and stride
I hear them pine for home and hearth
I hear these men. I hear them

I feel these men,
I feel them bear, upon my back,
I feel them flinch as fusillades crack
I feel their fear when eye to eye
with enemy and with, Ally
I feel these men. I feel them

I taste these men,
I taste the morsel of food after days of fasting,
I taste the tart soil fly in my face as I am advancing,
I taste the sullen defeats and unimaginable victories
I taste these men. I taste them

I know these men,
I know it was for these men that we “Walers” did ride,
I know these fearless soldiers that we served alongside,
I know these men, lest I forget them, nor they forget me,

I knew those men, I knew them.
for both foot and hoof laid prints upon the mud
And so too spilt our kindred blood

• Section: Let's Not Forget, Waler Tales