Whispering in Wattle -Boughs
by Adam Lindsay Gordon
OH, gaily sings the bird! and the wattle-boughs are stirred
And rustled by the scented breath of Spring;
Oh, the dreary wistful longing! Oh, the faces that are thronging!
Oh, the voices that are vaguely whispering!
Oh, tell me, father mine, ere the good ship crossed the brine,
On the gangway one mute handgrip we exchanged,
Do you, past the grave, employ, for your stubborn reckless boy,
Those petitions that in life were ne’er estranged?
Oh, tell me, sister dear—parting word and parting tear
Never passed between us: let me bear the blame—
Are you living, girl, or dead? bitter tears since then I’ve shed
For the lips that lisped with mine a mother’s name.
Oh, tell me, ancient friend, ever ready to defend
In our boyhood, at the base of life’s long hill,
Are you waking yet or sleeping? Have you left this vale of weeping,
Or do you, like your comrade, linger still?
Oh, whisper, buried love, is there rest and peace above?—
There is little hope or comfort here below;
On your sweet face lies the mould, and your bed is strait and cold—
Near the harbour where the sea-tides ebb and flow.
All silent—they are dumb—and the breezes go and come
With an apathy that mocks at man’s distress;
Laugh, scoffer, while you may! I could bow me down and pray
For an answer that might stay my bitterness.
Oh, harshly screams the bird, and the wattle-bloom is stirred;
There’s a sullen weird-like whisper in the bough:
‘Aye, kneel and pray and weep, but HIS BELOVED SLEEP
CAN NEVER BE DISTURBED BY SUCH AS THOU!’

A few random poems:
- Italy poem – Aldous Huxley poems | Poetry Monster
- Владимир Высоцкий – Перед выездом в загранку заполняешь кучу бланков
- Zummer Thoughts In Winter Time by William Barnes
- Orlando Furioso Canto 21 by Ludovico Ariosto
- A Birthday Present poem – Alfred Austin
- Song Of The Peri
- Progress by Michael McGovern
- Юрий Коринец – О счастье
- Яков Полонский – Ночная дума
- Alone in Crowds to Wander On by Thomas Moore
- To A Child Dancing In The Wind by William Butler Yeats
- Ярослав Смеляков – Хорошая девочка Лида
- A Winter Bluejay by Sara Teasdale
- Conversation 4: On Place by Rosmarie Waldrop
- Владимир Высоцкий – Ленинградская блокада
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
- Starlight
- Song Of The Peri
- Song Of The Parao Camping Ground
- Song Of The Enfifa River
- Song Of The Devoted Slave
- Song Of The Colours By Taj Mahomed
- Song Of Taj Mahomed
- Song Of Ramesram Temple Girl
- Song Of Khan Zada
- Song Of Jasoda
- Song Of Faiz Ulla
- Song By Gulbaz
- Sleep
- Shivratri The Night Of Shiva While The Procession Passed At Ramesram
- Sher Afzul
- Sea Song
- Sampan Song
- Rutland Gate
- Reverie Zahir U Din
- Reverie Ofmahomed Akram At The Tamarind Tank
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.