Every now and then I get the chance to meet some amazing people. This time it happened just about in my own back yard. This is a poem written by Mr Ralph Scrivens on the 22 January 2013. The poem relates to an incident in the 1970's he attended whilst performing his duty as a young police officer in New South Wales Police Force.
Although my blog usually relates to cycling only, I've decided to add stories of interest from now on.
The poems goes like this;
They were a just a young couple, doing their best to make ends meet,
Had two little boys aged nine and seven, their little family was now complete,
Wallerawang was where they lived, a coal mining town out west,
Good, honest, hardworking folk, their love would soon be put to the test.
I was a Constable in that quiet little town, raising a family of my own,
On duty one Saturday afternoon, when the call came through on the phone,
It was the call that all Policemen dread, "There's been an accident, come down now!"
That's all you're told, you don't know what to expect, and hope that you'll cope somehow.
You see, Mum and Dad had a small business, dispensing soft drinks around the town,
They had rented a shed with a big back yard, a truck and a fork lift, both a bit run down,
This fateful day, so much to do, they were getting further behind,
The boys had come down to help them out, they lightened the load that was becoming a grind.
Mum was driving the forklift that bright afternoon, picking up pallets and stacking them high,
Out to the yard then back in the shed, it all happened so quick, in the blink of an eye,
You see when the fork lift was empty, boys being boys would hitch a ride,
On the front forks, it seemed such a thrill, but fate lent a hand, a young life was denied.
A small bump in the road, the boy lost his grip, a moment in time that she'll never forget,
To outlive a child is a terrible thought, her actions that day she would live to regret,
I attended the scene, what I saw that day, his small lifeless body lying there in the dust,
An image so real like time had stood still, what action to take, my moral to trust.
The look of sheer horror on that mother's face, awakened my conscience, I knew then and there,
This was no time for rules and by-laws, but a sense of what's right and a sense of what's fair,
I saw no malice in her actions that day, so in my report and presenting evidence,
I was not the judge and jury, she had given herself a life sentence.
Until tomorrow, safe riding.
