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:
- “Célibataire” by Sylvia Plath
- Николай Языков – С. П. Шевыреву (Тебе хвала, и честь, и слава)
- Night At The Marina by Shreekumar Varma
- REFLECTING THE PRAISES by Satish Verma
- Владимир Маяковский – Товарищи, близятся ужасы зимы… (РОСТА №270)
- Answers by Mark Strand
- A Cat Perched on the Railing poem – Amy Cavanaugh poems | Poems and Poetry
- Владимир Корнилов – Незадача
- Такахама Кёси – Ливень прошел
- Владимир Маяковский – Дешевая распродажа
- Илья Эренбург – Я слышу всё, и горестные шепоты
- Sea Salt A Villanelle
- A Little Song poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Master Valluvan, the long-misunderstood Tamil Mentor by T. Wignesan
- I Entreat You, Alfred Tennyson by Walter Savage Landor
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
- Adolescence II by Rita Dove
- Adolescence I by Rita Dove
- They are Cruel by Rixa White
- The Polar Koala Bear by Robby Charters
- The Lame Guy by Rob Leatherman Sr.
- The Invisible by Rixa White
- The Epic of Jack and Jill by Robby Charters
- The Commitment by Rob Leatherman Sr.
- The Beginning of the End by Rixa White
- The Ancient Deception by Rixa White
- Start Growing by Rixa White
- Splenda by Rob Leatherman Sr.
- Show me by Rixa White
- Rhyme by the Bog by Robby Charters
- Power of Peace by Rixa White
- Poetic Justice by Robby Charters
- Old Times by Rixa white
- Nothing is Real by Rixa White
- Limericks by Robby Charters
- It is a Show by Rixa White
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.