[Editor: This poem by C. J. Dennis was published in A Book for Kids, 1921.]
Hist!
Hist! . . . . . . . Hark!
The night is very dark,
And we’ve to go a mile or so
Across the Possum Park.
Step . . . . . . . light,
Keeping to the right;
If we delay, and lose our way,
We’ll be out half the night.
The clouds are low and gloomy. Oh!
It’s just begun to mist!
We haven’t any overcoats
And — Hist! . . . . . . . Hist!
(Mo . . . . . . . poke!)
Who was that that spoke?
This is not a fitting spot
To make a silly joke.
Dear . . . . . . . me!
A mopoke in a tree!
It jarred me so, I didn’t know
Whatever it could be.
But come along; creep along;
Soon we shall be missed.
They’ll get a scare and wonder where
We — Hush! . . . . . Hist!
Ssh! . . . . . . . . . Soft!
I’ve told you oft and oft
We should not stray so far away
Without a moon aloft.
Oo! . . . . . . . Scat!
Goodness! What was that?
Upon my word, it’s quite absurd,
It’s only just a cat.
But come along; haste along;
Soon we’ll have to rush,
Or we’ll be late, and find the gate
Is — Hist! . . . . . . Hush!
(Kok! . . . . . Korrock!)
Oh! I’ve had a shock!
I hope and trust it’s only just
A frog behind a rock.
Shoo! . . . . . . . Shoo!
We’ve had enough of you;
Scaring folk just for a joke
Is not the thing to do.
But come along, slip along —
Isn’t it a lark
Just to roam so far from home
On — Hist! . . . . . Hark!
Look! . . . . . . . See!
Shining through the tree,
The window-light is glowing bright
To welcome you and me.
Shout! . . . . . . . Shout!
There’s someone round about,
And through the door I see some more
And supper all laid out.
Now, run! Run! Run! . . .
Oh, we’ve had such splendid fun —
Through the park in the dark,
As brave as anyone.
Laughed, we did, and chaffed, we did,
And whistled all the way,
And we’re home again! Home again!
Hip . . . . . . Hooray!
Source:
C. J. Dennis. A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, [1921], pages 60-63
Editor’s notes:
mopoke = a small brown owl, the Southern Boobook (Ninox novaeseelandiae), also known as the Tasmanian spotted owl (on a related note, the Tawny Frogmouth is often mistaken for an owl, and is called a “mopoke” by some Australians)
i am in year 5 and i am learning this poem
Me too
I went to Noorat Primary School ( No 1174) in the 1960’s. Our teacher, Miss Skene, used to read from The Book For Kids. I loved the black and white horse on the cover.
Hist was a favourite poem for the whole class it seemed.
There was always a delighted chorus of “Read it again!!!”
Now I’m reading it to my grandchildren, who want to hear it every visit and how delightful it is when I hear them giggling”Read it again”
……. and I do!!
l too learned this poem in Year 4 at a country school and still remember it word for word. That was about 1958.
It is a classic!
Possum Park is a eucalypt tree studded property on the edge of the South Australian Mid-North town of Laura, where C.J. Dennis lived as a child. The road leading from Laura to Crystal Brook and Port Pirie is now called Possum Park Road.
When I was a child at the Forreston Primary School, I remember two girls called Betty and Kaye, who were a year or so older than I was, reciting this poem for a school concert. They showed considerable thespian talent, and I have never forgotten their presentation.