Walking with the Wagons by Raine Geoghegan


 

Raine Geoghegan, MA lives in West Sussex. She is half Romany with Welsh and Irish ancestry. Her poems and short prose have been widely published and her debut pamphlet, Apple Water – Povel Panni  was published by Hedgehog Press in November 2018 and previewed at the Ledbury Poetry Festival in July 2018. Her poetry was featured in the documentary – Stories from the Hop Yards, celebrating the work of photographer Derek Evans and her poem, ‘A Memory of the Hop Fields’, was made into a short film by the Wellington Primary School. ‘Somewhere in Apple Water Country’ was nominated for ‘Best of the Net 2018’, ‘Apple Picking in the Vale of Evesham’ was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and her pamphlet has been nominated for a Michael Marks Award. Other publications include, Under the Radar; Poetry Ireland Review; The Curlew; The Clearing and Romany Routes, the Journal of the Romany & Traveller Family History Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking with the Wagons


 

Leeks, spring greens, asparagus and onions, all to be picked.

 

Heather on the common.

Yellow on the broom.

Walking with the wagons

on our way to Bishop’s Frome.

 

The chavies they are laughin’,

they saw a little dog.

He only ‘ad three legs

but was dancin’ with a frog.

 

Stopped to ‘ave some ‘obben,

we sat around the yog,

thinkin’ back to ‘oppin’ days

when rackley’s sold the togs.

 

Heather on the common.

Yellow on the broom.

Walking with the wagons

on our way to Bishop’s Frome.

 

As we near our atchin tan.

The women shout ‘hooray’.

We unpack all our covels

then untie the grai.

 

We’ve come to pick the leeks

and yearn a nice few bob.

We’ll see our Gypsy freno’s

and find an extra job.

 

Heather on the common.

Yellow on the broom.

Walking with the wagons

on our way to Bishop’s Frome.

 

We’ve travelled all of England,

not knowing what’s ahead.

And in this kushti wagon,

is where we lay our ‘ead.

 

The Gypsy life’s the best.

We roam the pooves and droms.

You’ll never see us glum.

We’ve fire in our bones.

 

Heather on the common.

Yellow on the broom.

Walking with our wagons

on our way to Bishop’s Frome.

 

Raine Geoghegan

romani words


Chavies – children; Hobben – food; Rackley’s – women; Tog’s – clothes; Atchin tan – stopping place; covels – belongings; Grai – horses; Freno’s – friends. Kushti – lovely; Pooves – fields; Droms – roads.

 

(Bishop’s Frome in Herefordshire where the Romany Travellers used to pick hops every year)

A memory of the hop fields

The lungo drom

poems

stories