An Exile’s Farewell
by Adam Lindsay Gordon
The ocean heaves around us still
With long and measured swell,
The autumn gales our canvas fill,
Our ship rides smooth and well.
The broad Atlantic’s bed of foam
Still breaks against our prow;
I shed no tears at quitting home,
Nor will I shed them now!
Against the bulwarks on the poop
I lean, and watch the sun
Behind the red horizon stoop —
His race is nearly run.
Those waves will never quench his light,
O’er which they seem to close,
To-morrow he will rise as bright
As he this morning rose.
How brightly gleams the orb of day
Across the trackless sea!
How lightly dance the waves that play
Like dolphins in our lee!
The restless waters seem to say,
In smothered tones to me,
How many thousand miles away
My native land must be!
Speak, Ocean! is my Home the same
Now all is new to me? —
The tropic sky’s resplendent flame,
The vast expanse of sea?
Does all around her, yet unchanged,
The well-known aspect wear?
Oh! can the leagues that I have ranged
Have made no difference there?
How vivid Recollection’s hand
Recalls the scene once more!
I see the same tall poplars stand
Beside the garden door;
I see the bird-cage hanging still;
And where my sister set
The flowers in the window-sill —
Can they be living yet?
Let woman’s nature cherish grief,
I rarely heave a sigh
Before emotion takes relief
In listless apathy;
While from my pipe the vapours curl
Towards the evening sky,
And ‘neath my feet the billows whirl
In dull monotony!
The sky still wears the crimson streak
Of Sol’s departing ray,
Some briny drops are on my cheek,
‘Tis but the salt sea spray!
Then let our barque the ocean roam,
Our keel the billows plough;
I shed no tears at quitting home,
Nor will I shed them now!

A few random poems:
- On the Departure of Sir Walter Scott from Abbotsford by William Wordsworth
- Николай Гербель – Меня преследует какой-то демон злой
- Николай Языков – Странный случай
- Жан де Лафонтен – Орел, Дикая Свинья и Кошка
- Владимир Высоцкий – Заключительная песня Кэрролла
- Sonnet 113: Since I left you, mine eye is in my mind by William Shakespeare
- A Late Walk by Robert Frost
- Full of Life, Now. by Walt Whitman
- Sonnet 01
- Childhood by Margaret Walker
- Hope A-Left Behind by William Barnes
- Lightning In The Dark Night Skies
- Alfred’s Song poem – Alfred Austin
- life on the escalator by Raj Arumugam
- Spain 1873–’74. by Walt Whitman
External links
Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus
Talking Writing Monster’s Page –
Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh
Poems in English
- Song—Willie brew’d a Peck o’ Maut by Robert Burns
- Song—The Tear-drop—“Wae is my heart” by Robert Burns
- Song—The Highland Balou by Robert Burns
- Song—The Fall of the Leaf by Robert Burns
- Song—The Birks of Aberfeldy by Robert Burns
- Song—Sweet Afton by Robert Burns
- Song—Stay my Charmer by Robert Burns
- Song—She’s Fair and Fause by Robert Burns
- Song—O Tibbie, I hae seen the day by Robert Burns
- Song—O let me in this ae night by Robert Burns
- Song—O can ye Labour Lea? by Robert Burns
- Song—Fragment—Leezie Lindsay by Robert Burns
- Song—Farewell to the Highlands by Robert Burns
- Song—Farewell to the Banks of Ayr by Robert Burns
- Song—Blythe hae I been on yon hill by Robert Burns
- Song—Beware o’ Bonie Ann by Robert Burns
- Song—Bessy and her Spinnin Wheel by Robert Burns
- Song—Behold the Hour, the Boat, arrive by Robert Burns
- Song—Behold, my love, how green the groves by Robert Burns
- Song—Awa’, Whigs, Awa’ by Robert Burns
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
Search engines:
Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)
Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.
Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees
Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.
Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.
Parallel Translations of Poetry
The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works
Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833 – 1870) was an Australian or British-Australian poet, horseman, police officer and politician. He is considered to be one of the first national Australian poets.