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:
- The Gardener XXVI: What Comes From Your Willing Hands by Rabindranath Tagore
- Нина Пикулева – Читайте, дети
- I Dream’d in a Dream. by Walt Whitman
- The Rolling Mills by Michael McGovern
- Юргис Балтрушайтис – Море и капля
- Владимир Маяковский – Товарищи, близятся ужасы зимы… (РОСТА №270)
- “From the man whom I love, though my heart I disguise,” by Tobias Smollett
- A Twilight Song poem – Alfred Austin
- death039s_claim.html
- Robert Burns: A New Psalm For The Chapel Of Kilmarnock: On the Thanksgiving-Day for His Majesty’s Recovery.
- Helen Of Troy by Sara Teasdale
- This by Ralph Angel
- Taking yourself too seriously by Raj Arumugam
- Safety-Clutch poem – by Ambrose Bierce poems | Poems and Poetry
- Владимир Маяковский – Праздновать способы разные, как мы праздник отпразднуем? (РОСТА № 383)
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
- May You Be Like An Evergreen by Ronald G. Auguste
- Marks Of Disrespect by Graham Rowlands
- Magic Markers by Rose Mary Boehm
- Mad Pirate Marmaduke by Ross D Tyler
- Lunch by Ross D Tyler
- Life Of a Broke Person by Russell James
- Kiss by Ruth Padel
- Jewels Should Sparkle Daily by Ronald G. Auguste
- I See Your Beauty by Ronald G. Auguste
- Herodotus in Egypt Remeber Delos by Ruth Padel
- Flamenco Flamingo by Ross D Tyler
- Falling Action by Ruth Madievsky
- Daryl, My Son by Ronald G. Auguste
- Conversation With My Heart by Russ Pergram
- Conversation 23: On Cause by Rosmarie Waldrop
- Concrete Backyard by Ryssel Guzman
- Camelot & The Greek Widow by Graham Rowlands
- Breath by Ryssel Guzman
- Bobsled by Ruth Madievsky
- Blue Glass by Ross D Tyler
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.