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:
- Владимир Высоцкий – Старательская
- Вера Павлова – Жизнь в посудной лавке
- An Appearance by Sylvia Plath
- Music poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth
- Иван Киуру – Ершок с вершок
- Every day I bear a burden by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
- Epistles to Several Persons: Epistle IV, To Richard Boyle, poem – Alexander Pope poems | Poetry Monster
- Вера Павлова – Снежную бабочку-однодневку
- Николай Глазков – Богатырское распутье
- Missing Person by Vinita Agrawal
- Inscriptions In The Ground Of Coleorton, The Seat Of Sir George Beaumont, Bart., Leicestershire by William Wordsworth
- In the spring twilight by Sappho
- The joyful things in life by Martin Smith
- A Tribute to Henry M. Stanley by William Topaz McGonagall
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
- Show It At The Beach by Shel Silverstein
- She’s My Ever Lovin’ Machine by Shel Silverstein
- Scum Of The Earth by Shel Silverstein
- Sarah Cynthia Slyvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out by Shel Silverstein
- Rosalie’s Good Eats Cafe by Shel Silverstein
- Rock ‘N’ Roll Band by Shel Silverstein
- Ring Of Grass by Shel Silverstein
- Recipe For A Hippopotamus Sandwich by Shel Silverstein
- Put Something In by Shel Silverstein
- Polly In A Porny by Shel Silverstein
- Point Of View by Shel Silverstein
- Pathetic Way Of Getting Over Me by Shel Silverstein
- On The Way To The Bottom by Shel Silverstein
- Never Bite A Married Woman On The Thigh by Shel Silverstein
- My Mind Keeps Movin’ by Shel Silverstein
- Morgan’s Curse by Shel Silverstein
- Melinda Mae by Shel Silverstein
- Mama I’ll Sing One For You by Shel Silverstein
- Makin’ It Natural by Shel Silverstein
- Lookin’ For Myself by Shel Silverstein
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.