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:
- The Leädy’s Tower by William Barnes
- nursery_rhyme_for_a_twenty_first_birthday.html
- Song poem – Ezra Pound poems
- Николай Рубцов – Жеребенок
- Robert Burns: A Dedication : To Gavin Hamilton, Esq.
- Untitled XXVII by Yunus Emre
- Remorse For Intemperate Speech by William Butler Yeats
- Robert Burns: The Author’s Earnest Cry And Prayer: To the Right Honourable and Honourable Scotch Representatives in the House of Commons.
- Heart To Heart by Rita Dove
- Bistro Memories by P.J.Reed
- Girl-Gladness poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- The Other Side of Panic by Martina Reisz Newberry
- Time by Vladimir Marku
- Don’t Tell Anyone by Tony Hoagland
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Добрый совет
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
- God Neither Known Nor Loved By The World by William Cowper
- Glory To God Alone by William Cowper
- From The Greek Of Julianus by William Cowper
- From Menander by William Cowper
- Epitaph On Mrs. M. Higgins, Of Weston by William Cowper
- Epitaph On Johnson by William Cowper
- Epitaph On Fop, A Dog Belonging To Lady Throckmorton by William Cowper
- Epitaph On A Free But Tame Redbreast, A Favourite Of Miss Sally Hurdis by William Cowper
- Epitaph On Mr. Chester Of Chicheley by William Cowper
- Epigram : To Leonora Singing At Rome (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Epigram : To Christina, Queen Of Sweden, With Cromwell’s Picture (Translation) by William Cowper
- Epigram : The Cottager And His Landlord. A Fable (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Epigram : On The Inventor Of Gunpowder (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Epigram : To Leonora Singing At Rome 2 (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Elegy VII. Anno Aetates Undevigesimo (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Elegy VI. To Charles Diodati, When He Was Visiting In The Country (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Elegy V. Anno Aet. 20. On The Approach Of Spring (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Elegy III. Anno Aet. 17. On The Death Of The Bishop Of Winchester (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Elegy II. On The Death Of The University Beadle At Cambridge (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Elegy I. To Charles Deodati (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
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.