| Walter Murdoch (1874–1970). The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse. 1918. |
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| 172. The old Black Billy an’ Me |
| | | By Louis Esson |
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| THE SHEEP are yarded, an’ I sit | |
| Beside the fire an’ poke at it. | |
| Far from the booze, an’ clash o’ men, | |
| Glad, I’m glad I’m back again | |
| On the station, wi’ me traps | 5 |
| An’ fencin’ wire, an’ tanks an’ taps. | |
| Back to salt-bush plains, an’ flocks, | |
| An’ old bark hut be th’ apple-box. | |
| I turn the slipjack, make the tea, | |
| All ’s as still as still can be— | 10 |
| An’ the old black billy winks at me. | |
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