'Twas in a small, up-country town,
When we were boys at school,
There came a circus with a clown
And with a bucking mule.
The clown announced a scheme they had —
The mule was such a king
They'd give a crown to any lad
Who'd ride him round the ring.
And, gentle reader, do not scoff
Nor think the man a fool,
To buck a porous plaster off
Was pastime to that mule.

The boys got on — he bucked like sin —
He threw them in the dirt.
And then the clown would raise a grin
By asking, 'Were they hurt?'
But Johnny Dacey came one night,
The crack of all the school,
Said he, 'I'll win the crown all right,
Bring in your bucking mule.'
The elephant went off his trunk,
The monkey played the fool,
And all the band got blazing drunk
When Dacey rode the mule.

But soon there rose an awful shout
Of laughter, when the clown,
From somewhere in his pants drew out
A little paper crown.
He placed the crown on Dacey's head,
While Dacey looked a fool,
'Now, there's your crown, my lad,' he said,
'For riding of the mule!'
The band struck up with 'Killaloe',
And 'Rule Britannia, Rule',
And 'Young Man from the Country', too,
When Dacey rode the mule.

Then Dacey, in a furious rage,
For vengeance on the show
Ascended to the monkeys' cage
And let the monkeys go;
The blue-tailed ape and chimpanzee
He turned abroad to roam;
Good faith! It was a sight to see
The people step for home.
For big baboons with canine snout
Are spiteful, as a rule,
The people didn't sit it out
When Dacey rode the mule.

And from the beasts that did escape
The bushmen all declare
Were born some creatures partly ape
And partly native bear.
They're rather few and far between;
The race is nearly spent;
But some of them may still be seen
In Sydney Parliament.
And when those legislators fight,
And drink, and act the fool —
It all commenced that wretched night
When Dacey rode the mule.

Star Crossed Lovers

In fair Verona where we lay our scene,
Two households, alike in dignity,
A tale of love, forbidden and unseen,
A tragedy that ends in agony.

Oh, Romeo, oh Juliet,
Two hearts entwined by fate's cruel jest.
In love so deep, in death they met,
Their spirits soar, forever blest.

Young Juliet, a Capulet so fair,
Her beauty like the dawn's first light.
Sweet Romeo, a Montague so rare,
Both met beneath the moonlit night.

On Juliet’s balcony, their love was sworn,
With whispered vows beneath the starry skies.
Their future bright, yet filled with feuding's scorn,
A love that fate would later compromise.

Tybalt's wrath did spill dear Mercutio's blood,
Which stirred in Romeo vengeful fire.
With deadly steel he wrought his mournful flood,
And thus was banished from his heart's desire.

The Nurse, she knew of Juliet’s hidden plight,
A confidante in love’s forbidden scheme.
She helped the lovers in their secret flight,
And stood beside them in their fervent dream.

Good Friar Lawrence, wise and kindly soul,
In secret wed the star-crossed pair.
With hope to mend the feud's dark, bitter toll,
Yet fate decreed their love's despair.

Juliet took the potion, cold and deep,
From the apothecary’s secret store.
She feigned her death, in timeless, death-like sleep,
To be with Romeo evermore.

Romeo, hearing of her deathly plight,
Did buy a poison, swift and strong.
He kissed her lips beneath the pallid light,
And drank the draught that ended wrong.

Juliet woke to find her love was gone,
His lifeless form, her heart did break.
She took his dagger, with the coming dawn,
And with one thrust, her own life she did take.

Thus ends the tale of lovers' mournful plight,
A story told for ages hence.
In shadows deep or morning's golden light,
Their love remains, intense, immense.