The old orchard, full of smoking air,
Full of sour marsh and broken boughs, is there,
But kept no more by vanished Mulligans,
Or Hartigans, long drowned in earth themselves,
Who gave this bitter fruit their care.
Here's where the cherries grew that birds forgot,
And apples bright as dogstars; now there is not
An apple or a cherry; only grapes,
But wild ones, Isabella grapes they're called,
Small, pointed, black, like boughs of musket-shot.
Eating their flesh, half-savage with black fur.
Acid and gipsy-sweet, I thought of her,
Isabella, the dead girl, who has lingered on
Defiantly when all have gone away,
In an old orchard where swallows never stir.
Isabella grapes, outlaws of a strange bough,
That in their harsh sweetness remind me somehow
Of dark hair swinging and silver pins,
A girl half-fierce, half-melting, as these grapes,
Kissed here –— or killed here –— but who remembers now?
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Mulligans and Hartigans
From guest Josh (contact)
The names Mulligans and hartigans actually are very Irish names, which may refer to the early Irish settlers that emigrated and set up many orchards... -
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so emotional
Kenneth Slessor was a fine Australian poet. A critic once said that my style of writing poetry reminded him of Kenneth Slessor's poems. I was chuffed to hear that. I did not set out to copy him. We could be soul brothers. -
I have to admit i'm not the biggest fan of this poem. It creates a very dark and negative mood for me. I was just curious, does anyone else think there is any significance of the choice of the family names in the first stanza- Mulligan and Hartigan? personally i recognised Hartigan to sound similar to heart+ again, thus, love again. My english teacher disagreed with me saying it was too distant. i was just curious for others views on the matter. thanxz ^.^
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Mulligans are Hartigans are probably just the names that came to slessor's mind when he thought of who had settled there. obviously they have left now, or possibly even driven out by the land.
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its a pretty good poem yes. but does any one else think that Isabella may be an aboriginal girl."dark hair swinging and silver pins","wild ones", "small,pointed,black,like boughs of a musket shot" musket could also relate to the ways the aboriginal people were 'dispersed' or exterminated. but again wonderful poem
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it is very possible. i like your unique interpretation. however, my interpretation of "small, pointed, black, like boughs of a musket shot" as creating an unsettling mood of hostility. isn't it peculiar to relate grapes to a weapon of war? "half-savage with black fur" is another example of this.
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great!!
I can almost see her ghost slowly walking thru the orchard caressing the grapes,with long flowing hair so dark it appears silvery under the veil of stars and moon. Gives a real sense of haunting.I really think this is a great poem. -
Dogstars: these are very bright stars in the 'down under' constellation.
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What is dogstars? or are rather?
This is a well written piece, the first of Kenneth Slessor's that I have read.
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