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:
- Hope by Swaraj Prasad
- A DARK HOUSE by Satish Verma
- Robert Burns: Tam Samson’s Elegy: When this worthy old sportman went out, last muirfowl season, he supposed it was to be, in Ossian’s phrase, “the last of his fields,” and expressed an ardent wish to die and be buried in the muirs. On this hint the author composed his elegy and epitaph.-R.B., 1787.
- Tryin’ On Clothes by Shel Silverstein
- Dusk In Autumn by Sara Teasdale
- Алексей Плещеев – Бабушка и внучек
- The Craftsman by Rudyard Kipling
- Arithmetic on the Frontier by Rudyard Kipling
- On The Death Of The Bishop Of Ely. Anno Aet. 17. (Translated From Milton) by William Cowper
- Confession by Neelam Sinha
- The Enemies Of The Little Box by Vasko Popa
- Владимир Маяковский – Эй, товарищи, за труд!.. (Главполитпросвет №146)
- Allegiances by William Stafford
- How Many Bards Gild The Lapses Of Time! poem – John Keats poems
- I am not ashamed of myself by Swami Aaron Thomas
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
- Sir Giles’ War-Song by William Morris
- Sir Galahad, a Christmas Mystery by William Morris
- Sad-Eyed and Soft and Grey by William Morris
- Riding Together by William Morris
- Pomona by William Morris
- Our Hands Have Met by William Morris
- Night by William Morris
- Near But Far Away by William Morris
- Near Avalon by William Morris
- Mine and Thine by William Morris
- March by William Morris
- Love’s Gleaning Tide by William Morris
- King Arthur’s Tomb by William Morris
- In Prison by William Morris
- Iceland First Seen by William Morris
- For the Bed at Kelmscott by William Morris
- Flora by William Morris
- Earth the Healer, Earth the Keeper by William Morris
- Day by William Morris
- Autumn by William Morris
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.