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:
- Leopard by Stanley Wilkin
- Ольга Берггольц – Полуночная
- Olney Hymn 33: Seeking The Beloved by William Cowper
- I Ask Someone To Resolve by Shahida Latif
- Олег Григорьев – Двустишия
- Sweethearts of the Year by Vachel Lindsay
- Numb by Stephenie Tucker
- In Midnight Sleep. by Walt Whitman
- The Spring-Time, O The Spring–Time poem – Alfred Austin
- In Praise of Songs that Die by Vachel Lindsay
- Along The Sun-Drenched Roadside by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Private Property poem – Aldous Huxley poems | Poetry Monster
- Medical Ethics
- He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven by William Butler Yeats
- Tiny Warrior by Sharmagne Leland-St. John
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
- The Land of the Exile by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Judge by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Journey by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Hero by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gift by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XXXVIII: My Love, Once upon a Time by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XXXIV: Do Not Go, My Love by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XXVIII: Your Questioning Eyes by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XXIV: Do Not Keep to Yourself by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XXII: When She Passed by Me by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XXI: Why Did He Choose by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XX: Day After Day He Comes by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XVI: Hands Cling to Eyes by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XLVIII: Free Me by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XLVI: You Left Me by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XLV: To the Guests by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XLIV: Reverend Sir, Forgive by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XLIII: No, My Friends by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XLII: O Mad, Superbly Drunk by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XL: An Unbelieving Smile by Rabindranath Tagore
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.