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 Ghosts of past, the Angels of future by Vyshnav Shabu Nair
- The Ever-Patient Woman poem – Andree Chedid poems | Poems and Poetry
- Зинаида Александрова – Песня моряков
- Ocean of Forms by Rabindranath Tagore
- days of quiet by Raj Arumugam
- To Clementina Black poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- A Pict Song by Rudyard Kipling
- Robert Burns: The Birks Of Aberfeldy:
- Олег Чупров – Путь к Благодати не напрасен
- A Wife In London by Thomas Hardy
- Goals – How to Get Everything You Want by Brian Tracy – Review
- Cromwell’s Return poem – Andrew Marvell poems
- Happy Teacher’s Day by Vinaya Kumar Hanumanthappa
- Getting There by Sylvia Plath
- English Poetry. Thomas Moore. From “Irish Melodies”. 44. She Is Far From the Land. Томас Мур.
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
- Кондратий Рылеев – О милый друг, как внятен голос твой
- Кондратий Рылеев – Не вчера ли в хороводе
- Кондратий Рылеев – Н. М. Тевяшовой на предложение ее, дабы я написал стихи на Надежду
- Кондратий Рылеев – Мне тошно здесь, как на чужбине
- Кондратий Рылеев – Меня пленяли наши деды
- Кондратий Рылеев – Людмила
- Кондратий Рылеев – Любовь к отчизне
- Кондратий Рылеев – Луна
- Кондратий Рылеев – Князю Смоленскому
- Кондратий Рылеев – Как солнце ни блестит и как оно ни светит
- Кондратий Рылеев – К портрету
- Кондратий Рылеев – К Надежде
- Кондратий Рылеев – К N. N. (У вас в гостях бывать накладно)
- Кондратий Рылеев – К N. N. (Когда душа изнемогала)
- Кондратий Рылеев – К Фролову
- Кондратий Рылеев – К Делии
- Кондратий Рылеев – Извинение перед Н.М. Тевяшовой
- Кондратий Рылеев – Из письма к Булгарину
- Кондратий Рылеев – Гусь и змия
- Иван Крылов – Ода, выбранная из псалма 71-го
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.