Poetry spotlight: the legacy of Ned Kelly

Who Will Be Next?

Through the years, Ned appears
Bringing light and tears.
Bullets fly and someone else dies,
Who will be next?
From the Kelly clan to the single man
Who will be next?

The bullets fly through the night, and yet another dead.
However bad, he’s still a man,
Even with blood on his sunshine hands.
His eyes still tear, and his heart still breaks,
His actions filled with horrible mistakes.
Trapped within the irons hold, he never did grow old.
Kelly brought light and dark throughout the land.
Who will be next?

To death’s hold, Kelly was sold,
To the man who took all.
The darkness appeared and so did the tears,
Ned had been next.
The rope draped around his neck, his body cold to the touch.
With Kelly gone, many mourned, but now,
Who will be next?

Eadie V, Year 8

The man

Ned Kelly the boy and Ned Kelly the man was known very well throughout the land,
for he fought injustice and stood for his beliefs
Was he man or was he beast?
he was known as our sunshine, but he shall shine no longer except for in our hearts as he shoots darts at the heads of policemen

He was a murdered, a villain with an evil plan to conquer the Victorian police and land,
for what he did we can never forgive for the lives we can never give back and the families he left down the track
He robbed a bank and blew up a train and yet gathered so much undeserved fame.
He was a dragon eating the land, ruining justice, and saying, “I’m just a man,”
he blew flames on families killing their sons, blood red and bright on his murderous hands

So, was he a man or a murderous dragon?
Was he a victim, villain, or hero?
Will we see his ghost pearly and white?
Does he shine light on the Australian legacy?
Do the shots still ring out in the Australian desert?
In commemoration of the man. Ned Kelly.

Cadence W, Year 8

Such is life

Ned Kelly at the Creek,
Making plans but they stink.
Trying to relax but must quickly think.
Soon they’re under attack,
Lonnigan and Kennedy on their back.
The Kelly Gang were about to be sacked.

The coppers run on the track,
Ned Kelly is on their back.
One shot dead, the other for kidnap.
Glenrowan under flames,
It’s all just the same.
No one else, but Ned Kelly to blame.

Ned Kelly caught on sight,
No sharper than a knife.
Ned’s final words, “Such is life”.
The sunlight you can feel,
The birds chirping at the bill.
But Ned Kelly’s legacy remain at a still.

Mitchell C, Year 8