Young females once hauled wagons in mines
of Cornwall and children of both sexes were
sent to work hard and long hours in pits.
This is in remembrance of such hard times.
Along These Lines.
Today folk amble along mine tracks
Where once tin was hard hauled.
Inclines were handled by boys, blackened
With pit dust, bare armed, mauled
By overfilled trucks. Bal-maidens worked
Here too, loading ore, fine young
Females, hair capped, their laughter shirking
No rules, slack was, among
Such tender crews not allowed, they sang
Through mining ballards, loudly.
As shovel struck ore, these tracks just rang
With young voices, they being proud
Of their Cornishness, kept tunes in time.
Tracks still ring with lost childhood
And though silent these pit-shafts and mines,
Some nights we hear singing come back.
A gorgeously evoked piece of history. You have lent beauty to an ugly situation.
So haunting Fay and history of this is so interesting. They lost their childhood yet the singing surprised me especially as the children were doing such hard work. A splendid poem Fay.
Echoes of the sad past beautifully captured, but is it really past? The practice persists in many parts of the world, unlawful though.
as Raj says - they've not gone away. I did a piece a while back called 'beautility' about the bangladeshi kids. I like the gentleness and respectfulness of your poem.
this is sensitive and sweet both . This also reflects a conscience that's awake and the dreams that have gone down those silent tracks ...beautifully penned and wonderfully crafted verses add a glitter to the subject ...
Fay you really recreate the atmosphere of the mines and the tough times that the female and child labour faced in this well crafted poem..Thanks
a necessary reminder in clear verse of harsh times...and sadly, such times have not gone away, with so many children throughout the world working and under terrible conditions... a necessary poem, Fay
A testimony to human resilience is the way these brave ones... tender in years... sought to rise above their harsh lives. Your compassionate poem gives voice to their struggles... a story being repeated still today in other places around the globe...Thank you for your important poem, brought to us with such skill and sensitivity.