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The Collected Verse of TBV

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    Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 2:38pm
By popular demand, I bring you ... a thread for the creative works of TBV Big smile

This is the place for all the wonderful poems, verses and creative writing which are scattered throughout the forum and sadly get lost, or which have nowhere else to go.

And we're not just limited to rhyming verse and poems – Creative prose is welcome (yes, that means those random off-topic stories from Freefall), as well as pithy observations of life (a la Second Chance).

We also hope to attract Shammy's musings on Aussies. Some of you may not know that Shammy has been assimilating via our tipping comps, and he's proven a most enthusiastic student, ably mentored by furious and Freefall (yes, I know, the latter is questionable but at least he's getting a broad education). Shammy could be our Mark Twain, though hopefully we don't turn him into a penniless alcoholic with syphilis ...

So, please contribute! Any topic. It's open mic.

Only rules: It has to be your original writing. And no sniping.

The stage is yours!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote brave_ponies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 2:41pm
I'm kicking things off with some of TBV's most popular verse, by our bard Take2 (reposted with his permission). This is from the Pride of Jenni thread:


Ifs, Whys, and Couldabeens in Racehorse Breeding

 

Upon the grassy paddock, in the predawn’s gentle hue,

The foal finds its footing—will it run or bid adieu?

For every champion’s birth, a hundred tales unseen,

The if’s, the why’s, the couldabeen’s, and all the hopes between.

If only sire had thundered past the post, not just the rail,

If dam’s old legs were stronger, if the weather held, not hail.

If timing, chance, and gentle hands aligned in flawless dance,

Would this colt dash to glory, or barely get the chance?

Why does one heart beat bolder, with courage in its veins?

Why do others falter, touched by fortune’s fickle reins?

Why do legends often spring from cords of modest thread,

While bluebloods fade to whispers, their promise left unsaid?

Couldabeens haunt the stables—the ones that nearly flew,

The filly with the fire, the colt who almost grew.

Couldabeen a Melbourne Cup, couldabeen the pride of spring,

Instead, just tales and daydreams, the songs the old hands sing.

Yet hope endures each morning, embroidered in the hay,

For every foal a question mark, for every race a may.

We breed, we dream, we ponder, as odds drift on the screen—

On if’s, on why’s, on couldabeen’s, and all that lies between



copyright(c) take2  november 2025


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote brave_ponies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 2:42pm
And from the Brumby thread:

A LightHorsemens lament  ?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Up in the snowy mountain high plains and far beyond,

Where brumbies once thundered, fearless and strong,

The legacy of the bush, forged in sweat and dust,

Is fading beneath the thump of blades and lawmen’s musk.

The walers of Beersheba, with their gallant digger load,

Once raced the blazing desert, their loyalty bestowed,

Now hunted from the heavens, their story nearly told,

Their hoofbeats dying softly on a land gone cold.

Choppers circle ruthless, raining steel and fate,

Erasing living legends for a future pale and straight.

Left to the scavengers—dogs turned wild and lean,

Feral cats, wild pigs, and others unseen.

Where once they grazed with sunlight in mane,

Now silence settles heavy across the vast snowy plain.

The ghosts of Light Horse heroes drift on evening winds—

We mourn the brumbies' passing, as another chapter ends.

Up in the snowy mountain high plains, beyond the reaches of town,

The brumbies did roam—a living link to legends handed down.

But now the Parks descend with rotors beating bitter air,

And rain a hail of bullets—ancient dreams laid bare.

These are the bush Anzacs’ heirs, the Beersheba mounts of old,

The Waler horses, sturdy, and bold—from NSW’s rugged fold.

They bore our Light Horse diggers in the swirling desert sand,

Now left for dead in silence, on their mother country’s land.

For the brumby, once a legend, now is hunted, left to lie,

The carcass feeds the pariahs—dogs gone wild,

Feral cats and boars maraud where once the thunder rolled—

A legacy unravelled, as the High country night grows cold.

So spare a thought, Australia, for the brumby ghosts at dusk,

Their memory gallops on the wind, through icy gums and musk.

We mourn them in the evening swell, their hoofbeats fading fast—

A thread of bush and Anzac pride, snuffed by the shadow cast


copyright(c)take2nov2025
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote brave_ponies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 2:44pm
Here's one of my own – a haiku for my friend, Freefall Hug

Farm days are hard, long
Foals bring joy; death, sweaty eyes
The pub calls you home.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stayer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 3:46pm
Good idea, BP.
Hope it works out OK and doesn't turn to more politics and blah blah.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote brave_ponies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 4:08pm
It’s a given in this joint, stayer LOL

However, political poems are ok - there’s a lot of words that rhyme with Trump Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stayer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 4:09pm
Yeah like BUMP
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whale Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 4:10pm
Dump on Trump
Declaration of Independence, signed after The Civil War. Trump said so.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote brave_ponies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 4:15pm
And the obvious one … hump Embarrassed
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote brave_ponies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 4:38pm
stayer, I think you once posted a poignant piece about your father and his doctor’s bag? If you feel inclined, please repost it here. I recall it was much admired by many Clap
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote GAJ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 4:53pm
Thank you Ponies for a great idea and have thought Take2's poems need their own space as they are very special.

My silly verse was in the TBV team thread, and just a bit of fun, to the tune (sometimes) to Gumtrees! with special mention to those in the comp thread.


Team Anthem..

I've been on the PC once or twice or many more
I've seen a lot of websites that have opened up a door
when people ask which one I like to go back to for some fun
I tell them right away...

Chorus
Give me a chair in front of TV
The Thoroughbred Village
A Comp or two ,good advice from a few
Some horses out the back and punters havin' a crack
That's where I like to go.....

Some members are outrageous
& Whale can make a splash
Sometimes we have to Slowdown
to see who's won a race
Some horses  - yes and people
They need a Second Chance,
That's why we all come back...

Chorus

There are some here from Foriegn shores,
One like a singer from way back
His name is Shammy Davis, but can he hold a note?
Then there is Acacia,  who loves to share Joke
A smile for every taste.

Chorus

Some people are just Passing through,
And are welcome to drop by, opinions,
views and humour is what is shared about.
One's been here forever, a Stayer through and through.
And many just like him.

On Saturdays we watch the box
Brave Ponies keeping beat
She doesn't let Freefall get away with much you know!
The scoring makes us Dizzy & Afros makes his cut
The description of the battle is what we like the most.

Chorus

Furious - the leader of the racing comp
her name it sounds so angry, her manner full of love
Oneonesits at the front with suggestions for the team
& marvels at Marble.

Chorus

There is Gay3 at the helm, her job it is quite tough,
To keep this mob in toe, and a football she can throw!
So there's many names not mentioned here.,
feel free to have a go,
It's just a bit of fun....

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Second Chance Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 5:11pm
Exceptional stuff GAJ.  Thumbs Up

And envy both your skill and inventiveness.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Dizzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 5:37pm
I agree with you SC,  I will read poetry all day, but I cannot write it to save myself.

In awe of you all. 


Edited by Dizzy - 02 Jan 2026 at 5:37pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whale Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 5:38pm
Gaj LOL Clap
Declaration of Independence, signed after The Civil War. Trump said so.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Plastic letters Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 5:41pm
😁😁😁😁😁😁💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

The screen door slams, Mary's dress sways
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside, darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me

You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain for a savior to rise from these streets
Well now I'm no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey what else can we do now
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's busting open, these two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back, heaven's waiting down on the tracks

Oh oh come take my hand
Riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh oh oh oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey I know it's late, we can make it if we run
Oh oh oh oh Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road

Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride it ain't free
And I know you're lonely for words that I ain't spoken
Tonight we'll be free, all the promises will be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they're gone on the wind, so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whale Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 5:43pm
Accreditation?
Declaration of Independence, signed after The Civil War. Trump said so.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Freefall Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 6:52pm
I’m not sure PL read the rules.

That’s Springsteen 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Second Chance Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 6:54pm
Jeez, anyone can quote someone else's verse. Dead
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Plastic letters Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:00pm
Can’t help yourself. 😆😆
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Plastic letters Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:03pm
Originally posted by Freefall Freefall wrote:

I’m not sure PL read the rules.

That’s Springsteen 

Yes FF, only partly read. As clearly 2nds did when it rushed in with a snipeWink

Oh well, apologies to BP and laughing at the triggered idiot 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Second Chance Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:05pm
Please read the rules and thus not make a d1ck of yourself.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Freefall Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:15pm
Just as an aside, BP knows I hate her! Subtly drawing me into a thread I would not usually notice. 

If she’d started this thread in 1692 I’d have called her out as a witch 😀

But since she asked…😂

My grandfather was an old bush poet living in a village called Hargraves, near Mudgee in central west NSW. An old gold mining town that once had a large population and plenty of pubs…now a hundred or so and no pub.

We’d visit their place (the old police station and courthouse they had on a 99 year lease on) from when I was a baby until they died when I was a late teen.

No electricity, kerosene lanterns to eat by and a fireplace that was so big we kids could sit inside it. A 30 litre urn always hanging over the coals to give them hot water.

So my younger brother was playing up. My mum was getting frazzled.

My grandfather took a draw on his pipe, stroked his grey beard and nicotine stained mustache and said sternly…looking at my brother…

“There was a young fella called Stuart,
Whose mother said to him, ‘don’t do it!’
If you do by the heck
I’ll get hold of your neck
And I’ll screw and I’ll screw and I’ll screw it”.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Dizzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:29pm
Okay, I have BP's permission to post these. They are my photos, but not my words. I work with a lovely follower of Buddha, Quang, he is the man behind the words.




Edited by Dizzy - 02 Jan 2026 at 7:30pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Freefall Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:29pm
No wonder I’ve got issues 😀
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Freefall Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:32pm
I really love both of them Dizzy. Really!

Don’t you start making me think of the meaning of the universe.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dizzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:35pm
Thanks FF. I am not really comfortable with sharing my photos, but look at me facing the big scary world.Embarrassed
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Freefall Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:41pm
I’ll say one thing Dizzy. I’m agnostic. Not a believer but am open to anything.

The only faith I’ve seen that almost fits my way of living is Buddhism. Not quite but almost.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote brave_ponies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:42pm
They should be in a calendar, dizzy. I could look at those all day, every day Heart
I need some zen Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote brave_ponies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:43pm
And ff, as an aside, you know full well there’s nothing subtle about me Embarrassed
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote brave_ponies Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2026 at 7:44pm
No need to apologise to me, PL. You break the rules, you pay the legal costs LOL
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