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:
- Faith and Faiths by Tomás Ó Cárthaigh
- When To The Attractions Of The Busy World by William Wordsworth
- English Poetry. William Barnes. Second Collection. The Heäre. Уильям Барнс.
- Robert Burns: Stanzas On The Same Occasion [Prospect of Death]:
- Doomes-Day: The Third Houre by William Alexander
- Омар Хайям – Листья дерева жизни, отпущенной мне
- Prologue, spoken by Mr. Woods at Edinburgh by Robert Burns
- Weekend Glory by Maya Angelou
- Coming and Going by Tony Hoagland
- Владимир Маяковский – Даешь тухлые яйца
- Sonnet (VIII) : Some left crown , some left land and some into exile by Neelam Sinha
- On The Disadvantages Of Central Heating poem – Amy Clampitt poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Love Child by William Barnes
- Impromptu: To Frances Garnet Wolseley poem – Alfred Austin
- Claïs by Sappho
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
- Оливер Голдсмит – Пыл упований людям дан
- Оливер Голдсмит – Послание в прозе и стихах
- Оливер Голдсмит – Подношение
- Оливер Голдсмит – Песенка
- Оливер Голдсмит – Опровержение логики
- Оливер Голдсмит – Оленья туша
- Оливер Голдсмит – Каждому по заслугам
- Оливер Голдсмит – Эпитафия Неду Пардону
- Ольга Высотская – Звёздочки
- Ольга Высотская – Здравствуй, праздник
- Ольга Высотская – Я зубы стисну, губы закушу
- Ольга Высотская – Волны
- Ольга Высотская – Веселый поезд
- Ольга Высотская – Снежный кролик
- Ольга Высотская – Первые заморозки
- Ольга Высотская – Обидчивая кукушка
- Ольга Высотская – Гости
- Ольга Высотская – Ежик
- Ольга Высотская стихи: лучшие стихотворения для детей Высотской – Poetry Monster
- Ольга Высотская – Детский сад
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.