Author Topic: Poetry Page (Read 683455 times)

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2360 on:** March 02, 2011, 09:26:18 PM »

J.W. Waterhouse

Discussion Leaders: Barb & fairanna

Join Us! For a Season of Spring Poetry

A Prayer in Spring
~ Robert Frost

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.

Janice · « **Reply #2361 on:** March 02, 2011, 10:59:01 PM »

I love Spring and I love poetry. These presented are among the most beautiful I have ever read...thankyou.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2362 on:** March 02, 2011, 11:29:22 PM »

Glad you stopped by Janice - and please, if you have a poem to share that would be lovely...

Babi · « **Reply #2363 on:** March 03, 2011, 08:13:43 AM »

BARB, I had to read that first paragraph two or three times,
but I finally figured out what you were saying. Well, it is
early and I haven't been awake long.

JudeS · « **Reply #2364 on:** March 03, 2011, 07:56:31 PM »

We Need a bit of humor so first we have Emily Dickinson on Spring

A little madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the clown-
Who ponders this tremendous scene-
The whole Experiment of Green-
As if it were his own.

And next Shakespeare (Loves Labor Lost)

When daisies pied, and violets blue,
And lady-smocks all silver white,
And cuckoo buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
"Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!" O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.

When shepherds pipe onoaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks,
When turtles tread and rooks, and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
"Cockoo
Cuckoo,cuckoo!" O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2365 on:** March 03, 2011, 08:04:56 PM »

Jude two winners - thanks - just what I needed tonight - been a strange day with a headache that would not let up so that had to even miss a class - long nap this afternoon with some migraine meds - tonight I feel like if I step crooked it will all come back - if it were later in Spring I would be sitting on the patio - legs pulled up with a hot cup of tea. And so the poems you shared were just the balm I needed -

I love the line - "And lady-smocks all silver white," and then in the next bit the maidens are bleaching their smocks - I think back when my daughter was young and Spring meant a simple cotton pinafore - all she needed was butterflies dancing around her head to complete the picture but it is the kind of memory most of us like to imagine life is all about - but alas - God sometimes can be with the clowns, green or otherwise.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2366 on:** March 04, 2011, 01:42:42 AM »

Lovliest of Trees
~ A. E. Houseman

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.

JudeS · « **Reply #2367 on:** March 04, 2011, 01:59:04 AM »

Barb
I hope your headache gets better!
The Houseman Poem is new to me . I thought I knew most of his work but I'm always happy to be surprised with a delightful one that for me,is new.

Babi · « **Reply #2368 on:** March 04, 2011, 08:37:25 AM »

I echo JUDE's good wishes re. your headache, BARB. And I've always
loved that Houseman poem. I also offer, not a poem, but some interesting data about the month of March.

"The word 'March' comes from the Roman 'Martius'. This was originally the first month of the Roman calendar and was named after Mars, the god of war. March was the beginning of our calendar year. We changed to the 'New Style' or 'Gregorian calendar in 1752, and it is only since then when we the year began on 1st January. The Anglo-Saxons called the month Hlyd monath which means Stormy month, or Hraed monath which means Rugged month. All through Lent the traditional games played are marbles and skipping. The games were stopped on the stroke of twelve noon on Good Friday, which in some places was called Marble Day or Long Rope Day. The game of marbles has been played for hundreds of years and some historians say that it might have been started by rolling eggs. In the past, round stones, hazelnuts, round balls of baked clay and even cherry stones have been used."
- Facts About March

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2369 on:** March 04, 2011, 11:06:26 AM »

who would have guessed 'playing marbles' and skipping rope are ancient games for Spring - fun!

Ode to Marbles
~ Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate 2004-2006

I love the sound of marbles
scattered on the worn wooden floor,
like children running away in a game of hide-and-seek.
I love the sight of white marbles,
blue marbles,
green marbles, black,
new marbles, old marbles,
iridescent marbles,
with glass-ribboned swirls,
dancing round and round.
I love the feel of marbles,
cool, smooth,
rolling freely in my palm,
like smooth-sided stars
that light up the worn world.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2370 on:** March 04, 2011, 11:08:55 AM »

Let's Play Marbles
~ Kathy Paysen

Freckles lightly sprinkled
A little toothless smile
A bag of colored marbles
Rolled out to play awhile

A circle drawn in the dirt
Tussled hair on one knee
Shooters behind thumbs
Knocking out pee wees

Cat eyes start to chase
A steely joins the game
Devil’s eyes and mashers
Then the boulders came

A free for all in the dirt
A circle of great friends
A collection of marbles
A circle that never ends

Marbles throughout time
Found in ancient pyramids
Puries and sapphire wonders
A game to make kids, just kids

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2371 on:** March 04, 2011, 11:22:25 AM »

do you remember jumping to

FIVE plum PEAS in a PEApod PRESSED.
ONE grew, TWO grew, SO DID the REST
They GREW, they GREW
they GREW so BIG
Never stopped growing
till the PEApod POPPED! - Your OUT

Babi · « **Reply #2372 on:** March 05, 2011, 08:57:09 AM »

No, I never heard that jump rope stanza, though I knew quote a few
others. And marbles can be so beautiful, can't they. My best childhood
memories are of swimming, tumbling and skating. Such a sense of
freedom in them.

Octavia · « **Reply #2373 on:** March 07, 2011, 05:20:46 AM »

Orkney/This Life

It is big sky and its changes,
the sea all round and the waters within.
It is the way sea and sky
work off each other constantly,
like people meeting in Alfred Street,
each face coming away with a hint
of the other’s face pressed in it.
It is the way a week-long gale
ends and folk emerge to hear
a single bird cry way high up.

It is the way you lean to me
and the way I lean to you, as if
we are each other’s prevailing;
how we connect along our shores,
the way we are tidal islands
joined for hours then inaccessible,
I’ll go for that, and smile when I
pick sand off myself in the shower.
The way I am an inland loch to you
when a clatter of white whoops and rises...

It is the way Scotland looks to the South,
the way we enter our friends’ houses
to leave what we came with, or flick
the kettle’s switch and wait.
This is where I want to live,
close to where the heart gives out,
ruined, perfected, an empty arch against the sky
where birds fly through instead of prayers
while in Hoy Sound the ferry’s engines thrum
this life this life this life.

Andrew Greig

Barbara, here in Australia we are entering Autumn, and I'm sure you've had your fill of cold weather poems, although here in CQ we have very mild winters. We can often shed our woolies by mid morning or earlier.
This is one of my favourite poems, I admire his work, both novels and poetry.
I've had a soft spot for Orkney since I read Ruth Park's Playing Beatie Bow. I didn't actually see the TV version.
Scottish poetry seem to be thriving at present. I've listened to Greig reading this on line, and it's wonderfully enhanced by the Scottish accent.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2374 on:** March 07, 2011, 01:09:37 PM »

Octavia - I had no idea you were from Australia - so glad you shared that bit - I know, we have several for Australia and one, maybe two from New Zealand - it is amazing how 95% of poetry is written by authors in the Northern Hemisphere using our weather to match the seasons. I guess March is a midling month regardless which side of the equator - one day hot another day cold - you are loosing leaves we are beginning to see leaves and where I am we have more growth that is never without leaves and the new leaves come this time of year letting the old fall and so the job of cleaning up piles of leaves that is typical up north is our Spring task and I bet it is your Spring task as well.

I was not familiar with this Scottish poet - exciting - another poet to discover his work - I need to look on a map and learn where the Orkney's are located - I have heard the word and I think it is an Island - I know where a few of the larger cities are located and the names of a few of the rivers - and I have a fleeting memory of the major upsets in Scotland with Britain but I really need to look into learning more about Scotland. Seems to me I read some Cozy Mysteries about a policeman in Scotland by the same author that writes the Agatha Raisin Cosy's and PBS did a series about a young man who inherits his family estate and he becomes the Lard which I think is a Scottish accent for Lord.

And so it is bits and pieces but not a whole picture - now with this poet I will have to get Scotland in place and find a few more Scottish poets.

Oh yes, Octavia, where in Australia are you located - in or near what city so I can look you up on the map - does everyone use the Google maps - they are terrific - in that most places you take the little yellow man and put him down on the street and use the arrows to travel the streets of the town - it is like a tour - you could actually see the front of our houses if we had each other's addresses. Now some cities are not all mapped yet so that not every street is depicted - I know the little community where my daughter lives only the main streets are in pictures which is more than last year when it was only 'the' main street. And I notice in many other areas of the world they are not as photographed yet as we are, but it is fun to see the land, shops, houses and parks in various towns.

If you try it I am in Austin on North Hills Drive which is next to Far West Blvd that comes off a major artery that runs through town called MoPac.

Octavia · « **Reply #2375 on:** March 07, 2011, 06:35:40 PM »

Barbara, the Orkney's are off the very tip of Scotland, so there can be very harsh weather, as Greig describes. I actually have the book This Life, This Life, I think I have one of the last copies in print. A collection of new and old poems, put together after a serious brain illness.
Carol Ann Duffy, Britain's Poet Laureate, is from Glasgow in Scotland. The first in 400 yrs. Carol won the TS Eliot Prize in 2006 for Rapture. Sean Heaney(sp?) is Scottish too, I think.
I will have a look for your town, MoPak is an unusual name, where does it come from?
I live in Rockhampton(everyone calls it Rocky) in Central Queensland on the Tropic of Capricorn, the beach isn't too far away, a lot of workers commute every day, so they get the best of both worlds.
Very, very hot and humid in summer unfortunately. Most recently known for the great floods, but also as the birthplace of "Rocket Rod Laver" if you follow tennis.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2376 on:** March 07, 2011, 06:50:05 PM »

It is MoPac - it is the acronym for the Missouri and Pacific railroad - it was the railroad that donated the first bit of land to make up the highway - the remaining land was gradually purchased - some from Ranchers and some from the Limestone Quarry that took in so much of this area north of the River before Austin became so large. The State wants the highway to be called Route 1 but locals have called it MoPac for at least 25 years before the first shovel went in the ground and now the highway is about 30 years old - can't change the habits of that much time.

Octavia · « **Reply #2377 on:** March 07, 2011, 07:27:58 PM »

I'm not very good with Google, so I had to revert to my World Atlas to "see" Austin. I have a feeling it's much, much, bigger than Rocky

. So many familiar names around you, we Down Under people have been steeped in these names all our lives from music, and films and books.
I thought I might add a poem from one of our best poets, Judith Wright.
It's called Egrets
Once as I travelled through a quiet evening,
I saw a pool, jet-black and mirror-still.
Beyond, the slender paperbarks stood crowding;
each on its own white image looked its fill,
and nothing moved but thirty egrets wading -
thirty egrets in a quiet evening.

Once in a lifetime, lovely past believing,
your lucky eyes may light on such a pool.
As though for many years I had been waiting,
I watched in silence, till my heart was full
of clear dark water, and white trees unmoving,
and, whiter yet, those thirty egrets wading.

Judith Wright

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2378 on:** March 07, 2011, 07:41:41 PM »

Octavia when I Googled Rocky Australia lots of businesses came up and this Google Map with lots of evidently Rock locations but no town by the name of Rocky - is that a shortened nickname for your town? here is what came up on the Australia map that I clicked on from Google - I wonder if maybe Google has not mapped Australia yet.

http://www.nothinglikeaustralia.com/us/flash.htm#/entries

Octavia · « **Reply #2379 on:** March 07, 2011, 08:09:57 PM »

Barbara, I'm sorry I've confused you with the two names. I did mention that the proper name is Rockhampton(hampton for village, plus there are rocks in the river near the bridge). In days gone by, everything was brought in by ship, up the Fitzroy River, and there is an historic Customs House on the river front.
Are we the only two people around here? Perhaps it's late over there, it's just aftr 11:00AM here, and I have loads of things I should be doing, but nothing as interesting

.I've been reading in a lot of Folders.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2380 on:** March 07, 2011, 08:57:40 PM »

wheeee I found it - I am on William Street and the corner of Denison Street - lots of palm trees - rather flat - I am going to find the river - Well I turned onto Denison to Derby and then I had to get on Almy or something like that and here I am back on William again - but now quaint shops as I go toward the river. Oh I see - I bet you drive on the other side of the street and that is why it keeps forcing me to make turns. - Well I am getting a look - are there better streets I should be on?

I do not know if this link goes to the map I am using but here goes -
http://maps.google.com/?utm_campaign=en&utm_medium=ha&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk-gm

Octavia I believe the time showing on top of the posts is Pacific time which is California - they are two hours behind us in Central time and many of those who post live east and they are in yet another time zone - I have to look to find the time difference between you and Texas - but now it is showing 6 going for 7 which is west coast time here it is hmmm should be two hours difference so I am confused - when it is 6: in California it is 8: here and 9: where most of those who post live - now Babi is also in Texas but she is an early bird and is up and posting by 7: in the morning our time. I am often an night owl posting in the wee hours of the morning - but for now it is after 8: in the evening.

OK went along Quay street to a bridge - this is exciting - lovely river and lots of trees.

Octavia · « **Reply #2381 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:41:17 PM »

Barbara, I did get to see your area, very clumsily because of the touch pad I'm learning to use, and my total incompetency with maps, but I was actually on the street. It seems very spacious and clean, not cluttered like most of our streets. There was a school that seemed to be made of pink stone? Certainly a huge City, about 7 times bigger than mine.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2382 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:45:57 PM »

Octavia - Nice to see you here. Barb is a legend, and we all love her. She may not know it but often the poetry she posts here reduces me to tears. I am much more emotional now I am getting older. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing.

I loved your poem about the Orkneys. I think I saw a documentary about Andrew Greig on SBS or ABC. He gave the impression of being a bit of a hermit, preferring his own company, he wrote some gorgeous poetry. I can still see him walking along the waterfront.

Judith Wright - her poetry is so hauntingly beautiful. I like these lines.

"Once in a lifetime, lovely past believing,
your lucky eyes may light on such a pool."

She takes you into her world, and you long to see that pool.

Barb : Octavia has made me jealous.

Now I want you to see Brisbane, Queensland on Google. Brisbane has recovered well after the floods.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2383 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:46:31 PM »

Oh my you slipped in here while I was writing - what a nice thing to say - oh dear - I had no idea - well I am glad to bring wonders to folks even if it means tears

Octavia I live across from those two school - the elementary you can hardly see because it is behind all the trees but the school you saw was down a very very steep hill that the maps do not do a good job of showing just how steep [I know from my Daughter's area - she is in the Appalachian mountains on the side of a mountain] the school you saw is the middle school for the area and just past the middle school are many shops.

I think here the pictures were taken in early summer and the construction of the drainage on the school was still going on - my house is opposite all that construction.

Is there a part of Rockhampton I should look at that is more telling of the town - I seemed to go through the area where there are lots of shops and on Quay it appears those buildings are probably some of the earliest built when river traffic was probably the only delivery point.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2384 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:51:50 PM »

Oh my we are talking BIG town for Brisbane - I was in the area that is labeled Brisbane and then there are all these smaller areas with different names - rosehanarose what would be a good area for me to explore to find a typical residential area

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2385 on:** March 07, 2011, 10:01:34 PM »

With all this posting from Australia we need a couple of poems for your kind of Spring --- this one has no author that I can find.

Spring 'down under'

Last Spring,
on a visit to my daughter,
there was, on her sideboard,
next to the photos of her children,
a vase of daffodils,
yellow in a ray of sunshine from the window,
trumpeting that spring was back again.

Green leaves complementing
the pale green dress she was wearing,
she sat, with her cat on her lap,
reading Wordsworth’s poem
about what he’d seen when,
as lonely as a cloud,
he'd wandered by the lake.

As we talked, we remembered
the friends she'd had during
her early life 'up-over', and realised
that, though it was Spring 'down-under',
they would be seeing the dead leaves
of their trees falling in anticipation of
winter’s forthcoming.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2386 on:** March 07, 2011, 10:03:20 PM »

I don't remember this one being posted in the past but if it was - so be it - some are just too good to only read one time.

ANZAC
~ by Bartlett Adamson

By purple hills and opalescent sea
And sunlit leagues of plain they lived, and they
Were summery-hearted all, and life was gay,
And peace was theirs, and love, and liberty.
And when the clarion sounded suddenly,
They went, a rollicking band of boys at play
Tilted at doom, and there, at Anzac Bay,
Died...but they taught the world what men they be.

And Anzac now is an enchanted shore;
A tragic splendor, and a holy name;
A deed eternity will still acclaim;
A loss that crowns the victories of yore;
A glittering golden dome for evermore
Shining above the minarets of fame.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2387 on:** March 07, 2011, 10:05:33 PM »

Barb - Yes. It is a BIG town. Take a look at the CBD on the BIG river that caused so much drama not so long ago. Two suburbs for you to compare- the wealthy - Hamilton; and the not so wealthy - Inala. My daughter lives in St Lucia. I live in Forest Lake which is a planned community and has a man (person?) made lake. One of my favourite suburbs is Ascot, near Hamilton. Kangaroo Point is an interesting suburb. I lived in a house there that I swear was haunted. You will be able to get an idea of where it is if you look for Holman Street under the Storey Bridge. As a marker Kangaroo Point is across from the City. Have fun!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2388 on:** March 07, 2011, 10:07:14 PM »

Not particularly Australian but seasonless.

Urban Haiku
~ Michael R. Collings

# Silence--a strangled
Telephone has forgotten
That it should ring

# Freeway overpass--
Blossoms in grafitti on
fog-wrapped June mornings

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2389 on:** March 07, 2011, 10:12:04 PM »

Thanks - immediately went to St. Lucia - easy to find - what a delight- lovely tree lined streets and cottage type along with big ol' two story houses - looks like most were built within the last 50 years. I was on 11th street and passed 8th I forgot avenue or street.

Need to get off here now but this is like creating our own little travel logs - I love it...

P.S. I found Forest Lake - hurray - lovely, just lovely - I sware the entire western world must use the same trash bins - the photos were taken on Trash day and the bins are exactly like ours.

Octavia · « **Reply #2390 on:** March 08, 2011, 03:33:31 AM »

Roshanarose, you picked outmyfavourite lines from Egrets. I have childhood memories of Brolga's dancing, that I treasure.
I have to say your by-line is messing with my mind.
Barb, we have a lot of beautiful Queenslanders in Rocky, houses built on "stilts" with large wrap-around verandahs, and often a laundry or extra room underneath, but you can see them while you're in Brisbane

.
I do appreciate the work you do here, although sometimes it's hard to enjoy winter poems when we're melting into little puddles, and vice versa.
Sometimes, we seem to miss Spring and just launch into full blown summer.As few leaves fall from our trees, it can be a case of blink and you'll miss it.

Gumtree · « **Reply #2391 on:** March 08, 2011, 04:03:35 AM »

Well, our trees are mostly evergreens. Not many deciduous trees are native to Australia so spring comes to us in different forms. Best of all I love our autumn season in the west where we get cool mornings, long warm to hot afternoons and cool evenings with light sea breezes. Perfect weather to sit outside any time of the day and enjoy - or even do a few chores! If only it would hurry up and get here - we are still in full midsummer mode

Barbara: I see that on your Google tour you've left the best until last. Take your time to enjoy Perth in the west. If you follow the Swan river in a westerly direction to Crawley you'll be within spitting distance of me. The river runs to Fremantle and then why not run north along the coast from Fremantle and you'll find City Beach and Scarborough - two of my favourite surfing beaches - I might even be there on the beach waving to you.

You should try panning around in Sydney too - especially around the Harbour and the coastline. If you can find Mosman or Balmoral Beach you can wave to my son.

I'll take a look at your neck of the woods later...

Babi · « **Reply #2392 on:** March 08, 2011, 08:26:27 AM »

That's 'Laird', BARB, not "Lard". 'Lard' does great up some
interesting images, tho'. I was interested to learn the present
poet laureate for Britain is Scots. The only one I really know
is dear old Bobbie Burns.
A beautiful poem, OCTAVIA. I can so easily imagine that
scene.
BARB & OCTAVIA, where do you find those maps that actually
show you the scenes you are 'passing'. The only maps I've seen
just have streets and names marked out...no scenery. Sounds like
a wonderful way to go sightseeing...anywhere!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2393 on:** March 08, 2011, 10:53:15 AM »

Thanks Babi Laird - OK I will remember that

The map - here is the tlink to Google's map
http://maps.google.com/?utm_campaign=en&utm_medium=ha&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk-gm

now in the box on top you can enter a city but I found you need to have the map over the continent you want to explore - example when I found the locations in Australia - when the map was on the US and I put the name of an Australian city in the box it took me to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean - once I had Australia in view and put in the city viola there it was -

Then get close enough that you can read the names of some streets - not all the streets but at least the main streets - and then take that little yellow man with your curser and move him onto the map and again - viola - all the streets that are pictured turn blue -

If you look just below his feet there is a roundish either green or blue circle - that is where the man is going to see, not where the man himself is set down - but once he is set down the screen turns from a map to a movie of where he is and in the road you can see a white line with arrows -

You have to fiddle a bit and turn the picture around sometimes but you can actually get in front of a house and point the man at the house and see the house from the street full front view - best I think is simply follow the street using the arrow to click and then you get to the point where you can go further faster by clicking ahead of the arrow a good distance. - coming to a corner is tricky at first but I find if as I am approaching the corner I click into the street I want to turn into and the first bit is out of focus but the second click and all is well.

You just have to play with it till you can smoothly see and then yes, most all the cities and towns and even byways are pictured - I thought it was done from outer space but I wonder since I saw the growth in this for the past 2 years and at first only the bigger cities especially if they were in the high tech parts of this country were pictured - now it appears to be almost all over - although as I say my daughter's house is still not on here although there are now more streets in her little village of 600 people on here.

OK Babi have fun...

Gumtree · « **Reply #2394 on:** March 08, 2011, 11:01:05 AM »

Barb: I understand that Google had folk driving around the streets to get the images - wasn't there talk about some kind of invasion of privacy?

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2395 on:** March 08, 2011, 11:11:53 AM »

Hmmm I do not know - but it make sense with the quality of the photos - for awhile you could get a view of roof tops and that I bet was from outer space - As to privacy - folks forget how much is already on line - just go to the county tax records and some counties even include a line drawing of the rooms of your house - plus, if you ever donate to a political candidate the total amount you donate and your phone number is on-line. - there is no privacy any longer - at first it seemed jarring that face book was putting all this on their site till you stop and realize it is all already on the Internet in one place or another.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2396 on:** March 08, 2011, 01:33:25 PM »

Oh I found some goodies in honor of y'all from Australia...

Travel Song
~ By Anne Glenny Wilson, (1848–1930), an Australian poet and novelist

‘COME, before the summer passes
Let us seek the mountain land:’
So they called me, happy playmates,
And we left the dawn-lit strand:
Riding on till later sunbeams slanted
On dark hills and downward-plunging streams,
And the solemn forest softly chanted
Old, old dreams.

From the pass, we saw in glory
Wave on purple wave unrolled
To the cloud-encircled summit
Floating high, alone and cold:
Like that altar-stone, by men of Athens
Dedicated to the unknown God;
Waiting for some fire to touch his holy
White abode.

Then the mellow sunset dying
Passed in rosy fire away,
And the stars and planets journeyed
On their ancient unknown way.
Riders of the illimitable heaven!
Moving on so far beyond our ken,
Do ye scorn the toiling, heavy-hearted
Sons of men?

Ere we slept we heard the torrents
Rushing from that mighty hill
Join in deep melodious singing,
While the forest-land was still.
Music of forgotten wildernesses!
Would that I could hear that song again!
Song of primal Earth’s enchanted sweetness,
Joy and pain.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2397 on:** March 08, 2011, 01:36:35 PM »

O Heart of Spring!
~ By John Shaw Neilson, (22 February 1872 – 12 May 1942), Australian poet.

O HEART of Spring!
Spirit of light and love and joyous day,
So soon to faint beneath the fiery Summer:
Still smiles the Earth, eager for thee alway:
Welcome art thou, soever short thy stay,
Thou bold, thou blithe newcomer!
Whither, O whither this thy journeying,
O heart of Spring?

O heart of Spring!
After the stormy days of Winter’s reign,
When the keen winds their last lament are sighing,
The Sun shall raise thee up to life again:
In thy dim death thou shalt not suffer pain:
Surely thou dost not fear this quiet dying?
Whither, O whither this thy journeying,
O heart of Spring?

O heart of Spring!
Youth’s emblem, ancient and unchanging light,
Uncomprehended, unconsumed, still burning:
Oh that we could, as thou, rise from the night
To find a world of blossoms lilac-white,
And long-winged swallows unafraid returning…
Whither, O whither this thy journeying,
O heart of Spring?

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2398 on:** March 08, 2011, 01:47:41 PM »

Night
~ By H. Duncan Hall

I SAW the Night caught, as by wizard’s spell,
In the red meshes of the setting sun;
From her black plumes the lurid light had won
A flash of sheen, and she grew visible.
But like a stricken gladiator fell
The weak-eyed sun beyond the hills of sleep;
The cloud-fires smoulder’d to a grey ash heap,
And Heaven whitened to a curvèd shell.

Before, I never knew Night’s majesty;
But now I know her beauty hath no peer
In heaven or earth; and when the white moon shines
From th’ circlet on her brow of mystery,
I see her shadow on the hills, and hear
The shudder of her plumes among the pines.

Cannot find out anything about H.Duncan Hall - do any of you know anything about him?

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #2399 on:** March 08, 2011, 01:54:02 PM »

In a Southern Garden
   ~ By Dorothea Mackellar, (1885 - 1968)

WHEN the tall bamboos are clicking to the restless little breeze,
And bats begin their jerky skimming flight,
And the creamy scented blossoms of the dark pittosporum trees,
Grow sweeter with the coming of the night.

And the harbour in the distance lies beneath a purple pall,
And nearer, at the garden’s lowest fringe,
Loud the water soughs and gurgles ’mid the rocks below the wall,
Dark-heaving, with a dim uncanny tinge

Of a green as pale as beryls, like the strange faint-coloured flame
That burns around the Women of the Sea:
And the strip of sky to westward which the camphor laurels frame,
Has turned to ash-of-rose and ivory—

And a chorus rises valiantly from where the crickets hide,
Close-shaded by the balsams drooping down—
It is evening in a garden by the kindly water-side,
A garden near the lights of Sydney town!

Dorothea was born in Sydney in 1858 into a well-established, wealthy family, and was educated privately at the University of Sydney. Her family owned substantial properties in the Gunnedah district of New South Wales and it is in this town which claims her as their own, there a statue of her on horseback has been erected. Her best known work is 'My Country', written when she was 19 years old, that is in the following post.

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