Jim's Whip
Yes! there it hangs upon the wall
And never gives a sound:
The hand that trimmed its greenhide fall
Is hidden underground —
There, in that patch of sallee shade,
Beneath that grassy mound.
I never take it from the wall:
That whip belonged to him —
The man I singled from them all:
He was my husband, Jim.
I see him now — so straight and tall,
So long and lithe of limb.
That whip was with him night and day
When he was on the track:
I've often heard him laugh and say
That when they heard it crack,
After the breaking of the drought,
The cattle all came back.
And all the time that Jim was here,
A-working on the run,
I'd hear that whip ring sharp and clear
Just about set of sun,
To let me know that he was near
And that his work was done.
I was away that afternoon,
Penning the calves, when — bang!
I heard his whip: 'twas rather soon:
A thousand echoes rang
And died away among the hills,
As toward the hut I sprang.
I made the tea and waited, but,
Seized by a sudden whim,
I went and sat outside the hut
And watched the light grow dim:
I waited there till after dark,
But not a sign of Jim.
The evening air was damp with dew:
Just as the clock struck ten
His horse came riderless — I knew
What was the matter then...
Why should the Lord have singled out
My Jim from other men?
I took the horse and found him where
He lay beneath the sky,
With blood all clotted in his hair.
I felt too dazed to cry:
I held him to me as I prayed
To God that I might die.
But sometimes now I seem to hear —
Just when the air grows chill —
A single whip-crack, sharp and clear,
Re-echo from the hill.
That's Jim! to let me know he's near
And thinking of me still.
This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired. According to Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright, the following works are public domain:
- published non-government works whose author died before January 1, 1955,
- anonymous or pseudonymous works and photographs published before January 1, 1955, and
- government works published more than 50 years ago (before January 1, 1974).
This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days), and it was first published before 1989 without complying with U.S. copyright formalities (renewal and/or copyright notice) and it was in the public domain in Australia on the URAA date (January 1, 1996). This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.
Because the Australian copyright term in 1996 was 50 years, the critical date for copyright in the United States under the URAA is January 1, 1946.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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