I’m just another darkie

I’m just another black

Not worthy of a handshake

Nor a pat upon my back,

But if a white should get in trouble

On the lonesome side of Burk

That’s when they call on men like me

To do their dirty work,

And we find the trails to follow

Through desert floor or mountain heights

Run the risk of hypothermia

On those bitter three dog nights,

When one dog cannot keep you warm

And two’s still not enough

And a third is all that stands between

A frozen death and us,

Then with the morning comes the sunshine

And the relentless desert heat

So hot it’s like the flames of Hell

Are licking at your feet,

While the white folk that come with us

Do nothing but complain

About the heat and flies, their sun scorched eyes

And the treacherous terrain,

Where the grass is sharp as razor blades

Or shards of granite stone

And a careless step could slice a fellows foot

Clean to the bone,

And the wildlife is as dangerous

As any found on earth

With the King Brown snake and Funnel-web

All poised to do their worst,

And the crafty, loathsome Dingo

To mention but a few

Of the things we must contend with

To achieve the things we do,

For the high and mighty white folk

That won’t allow us in their pub

Although they’re not so high and mighty

When they’re lost out in the scrub,

Where an Aboriginal Tracker,

Or “Darkie” as we’re known

Is the only chance they have in Hell

To make it safely home,

Then the friendship that they show us

Boarders on respect

Of coarse they know there’s still a way to go

They’re not in safety yet,

There’s the Croc infested rivers

The shark infested seas

Riverbanks so thick with mud

That you sink up to your knees

There’s dust clouds and big bush fire

That cannot be controlled

And trees as dry as tinder wood

That will help a fire take hold,

Plus a thousand other dangers

That we help them to avoid

There’d be a lot more white folk missing

If not for us coloured boys,

Yet when we find the ones we’re seeking

In some dried up river bank

It’s very rare, if ever

That it’s us trackers that they thank,

It’s the white folk that come with us

That are the hero’s of the day

Though we do all the tracking

They’re the ones, who get the praise,

And when we get them to their station

Safe in their cosy shack

Once again I’m just a darkie

Just another black.

By S.E.Ralph

12-1-2012