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 Sirens’ Song by William Browne
- The Dream of Eugene Aram by Thomas Hood
- The Death of Grandfather poem – Aleksandr Blok poems | Poetry Monster
- The Laird Of Waristoun poem – Andrew Lang poems
- An Act of Faith by Talha Jafri
- Ten Years After by Graham Rowlands
- Английская поэзия. Уильям Шекспир. Сонет 139. Оправдывать меня не принуждай. William Shakespeare. Sonnet 139. o call not me to justify the wrong
- The Holy Mountain of Hope by Thomas Ziemer
- Федор Сологуб – Вильгельм второй
- Specimen Of An Induction To A Poem poem – John Keats poems
- The Ghosts of past, the Angels of future by Vyshnav Shabu Nair
- A Conjuration To Electra by Robert Herrick
- A Portrait Of 1783 poem – Andrew Lang poems
- Bleäke’s House In Blackmwore by William Barnes
- Avenue In Savernake Forest by William Lisle Bowles
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
- On Hermocratia (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On Flaxman’s Penelope by William Cowper
- On Flatteries (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On Female Inconstancy (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On Envy (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On Delia (Bid Adieu, My Sad Heart) by William Cowper
- On An Ugly Fellow (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On An Old Woman (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On An Infant (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On A True Friend (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On A Thief (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On A Spaniel, Called Beau, Killing A Young Bird by William Cowper
- On A Similar Character (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On A Plant Of Virgin’s-Bower, Designed To Cover A Garden-seat by William Cowper
- On A Mistake In His Translation Of Homer by William Cowper
- On A Miser (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On A Miser, 3 (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On A Miser, 2 (From The Greek) by William Cowper
- On A Mischievous Bull, Which The Owner Him Sold At The Author’s Instance by William Cowper
- On A Good Man (From The Greek) by William Cowper
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.