"SEPARATED BY A COMMON LANGUAGE"

I just had quite a time trying to read a verse novel in English.
Yes, you read right. It was written in English.
Well, sort of.
It's voice is in a heavy Australian vernacular.

It is the story of a man who meets the love of his life;
their courtship, marriage,
and his transition into a contented family man.
I struggled at first, but once I got the hang of it,
it was quite fun.

Clicking on the title will take you to the home page of the novel and you can navigate from there. 

Warning: This is the last chapter.

(It made me think of my own husband.)

So if you do not like spoilers, by all means, start at the link.

from: The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke  

by C. J. Dennis

The Mooch o' Life

HIS ev'nin' I was sittin' wiv Doreen,  
 Peaceful an' 'appy wiv the day's work done,
Watchin', be'ind the orchard's bonzer green,
 The flamin' wonder uv the settin' sun.

Another day gone by; another night
Creepin' along to douse Day's golden light;
 Another dawnin', when the night is gone,
 To live an' love—an' so life mooches on.

Times I 'ave thought, when things was goin' crook,
 When 'Ope turned nark 'an Love fergot to smile,
Of somethin' I once seen in some ole book
 Where an ole sore-'ead arsts, "Is life worf w'ile?

But in that stillness, as the day grows dim,
An' I am sittin' there wiv 'er an' 'im—
 My wife, my son! an' strength in me to strive,
 I only know—it's good to be alive!

Yeh live, yeh love, yeh learn; an' when yeh come
 To square the ledger in some thortful hour,
The everlastin' answer to the sum
 Must alwus be, "Where's sense in gittin' sour?"

Fer when yeh've come to weigh the good an' bad—
The gladness wiv the sadness you 'ave 'ad—
 Then 'im 'oo's faith in 'uman goodness fails
 Fergits to put 'is liver in the scales.

Livin' an' lovin'; learnin' day be day;
 Pausin' a minute in the barmy strife
To find that 'elpin' others on the way
 Is gold coined fer your profit—sich is life.

I've studied books wiv yearnin's to improve,
To 'eave meself out uv me lowly groove,
 An' 'ere is orl the change I ever got:
 "'Ark at yer 'eart, an' you kin learn the lot."

I gives it in—that wisdom o' the mind—
 I wasn't built to play no lofty part.
Orl such is welkim to the joys they find;
 I only know the wisdom o' the 'eart.

An' ever it 'as taught me, day be day,
The one same lesson in the same ole way:
 "Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
 Fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."

Life's wot yeh make it; an' the bloke 'oo tries
To grab the shinin' stars frum out the skies
 Goes crook on life, an' calls the world a cheat,
 An' tramples on the daisies at 'is feet.

But when the moon comes creepin' o'er the hill,
 An' when the mopoke calls along the creek,
I takes me cup o' joy an' drinks me fill,
 An' arsts meself wot better could I seek.

An' ev'ry song I 'ear the thrushes sing
That everlastin' message seems to bring;
 An' ev'ry wind that whispers in the trees
 Gives me the tip there ain't no joys like these:

Livin' an' lovin'; wand'rin' on yer way;
 Reapin' the 'arvest uv a kind deed done;
An' watchin', in the sundown uv yer day,
 Yerself again, grown nobler in yer son.

Knowin' that ev'ry coin o' kindness spent
Bears interest in yer 'eart at cent per cent;
 Measurin' wisdom by the peace it brings
 To simple minds that values simple things.

An' when I take a look along the way
 That I 'ave trod, it seems the man knows best,
Who's met wiv slabs uv sorrer in 'is day,
 When 'e is truly rich an' truly blest.

An' I am rich, becos me eyes 'ave seen
The lovelight in the eyes of my Doreen;
 An' I am blest, becos me feet 'ave trod
 A land 'oo's fields reflect the smile o' God.

Livin' an' lovin'; learnin' to fergive
 The deeds an' words of some un'appy bloke
Who's missed the bus—so 'ave I come to live,
 An' take the 'ole mad world as 'arf a joke.

. . . . . .

Sittin' at ev'nin' in this sunset-land,
Wiv 'Er in all the World to 'old me 'and,
 A son, to bear me name when I am gone.…
 Livin' an' lovin'—so life mooches on.