Paterson cursed the paddocks purple,
“how pretty!” the city folk cry.
But farmers weep at fields of flowers
where the horses will sicken and die.
Paterson’s curse
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All photos on this site, including headers, were taken by me. Most were taken around my home, “Kate’s Folly”.
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What a poignant poem – how beauty and tragedy co-exist.
Thank you 🙂
Welcome
whenever i come back to this poem (you know, it’s not so often, but i’ve definitely read it a couple of times) i am drawn to ‘horses will sicken and die.’
– ‘will’ – breathtaking!
KOKO xo
Wow! Thanks Nick. That’s an amazing compliment, that you’ve read it more than once.
“Will” is a bit of an exaggeration, it has to be pretty dense, like the field in the photo, or a stupid horse that eats a lot of it. But it kills some every year. It causes liver damage. Cows don’t have such a problem with it because they have multiple stomachs, so break down more of the alkaloid toxins. It’s also called Salvation Jane because in a bad drought it will still come up and give cows something to eat. Although too much will make them sick too.
Packed with poignancy.