Harvest was the theme behind the winning poem by Jo McCalman for the 2024 Albion Cup Cultural Award.
Emerald Hill CWA held its annual competition recently, just as it does every November.
Members compete for the most entertaining poem, short story or anecdote.
The cup was originally donated in 1979 by past member Judy Baker, who lived on the Albion property.
Now 45 years later, the competition continues with Jo’s poem claiming victory in 2024.
The poem, Harvest Woes, jumps from one task to another, similar to the author’s day-to-day’s life during this time of year.
The added pressure of daily tasks as a bookkeeper, volunteer and sporadic items that require immediate attention on the farm and in family life is outlined in the poem.
It was written in the time Jo found while waiting to give dinner to “the boys” during harvest.
“It is a challenging time of year,” she said.
“The boys are busy and stressed,” which she said further adds to her own stress.
There is a recurring theme of checking in with one’s self during the period of high level pressure.
Multiple times she asks “RUOK,” which is in reference to the mental health organisation that encourages people to reach out to one another and dig deeper with the question.
The poem also acknowledges
the added pressure of recently becoming the treasurer of CWA Emerald Hill.
The responsibility comes with tasks that seem small but can be a massive time commitment to someone in the bush. She gave an example of driving to another person’s house to sign documents. Which makes all the difference with distance and time.
She described the pressure of all those things as what “tips you over”.
Her children are all grown now but she made note of all the busy mothers who have the added pressure of mothering children on top of everything else.
Jo was humble in her acceptance of the award, reiterating she is not a professional writer.
“I am not a seasoned poet, this is only the third poem I have written,” she said.
To order photos from this page click here