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:
- A Poplar and the Moon by Siegfried Sassoon
- Михаил Лермонтов – Без вас хочу сказать вам много
- On Receipt Of My Mother’s Picture by William Cowper
- Family by Stacey Chillemi
- I Know A Man by Yehuda Amichai
- Юлия Жадовская – Говорят придет пора
- Владимир Маяковский – Песня-молния
- To A Friend Whose Work Has Come To Nothing by William Butler Yeats
- Written for a Musician by Vachel Lindsay
- Sonnet CXI by William Shakespeare
- Uncle Sammy by Will McKendree Carleton
- He Has Lived In Many Houses by Thomas Lux
- My Words Embrace by Mary Etta Metcalf
- Ольга Берггольц – На Ивана-пьющего
- Нина Воронель – Бывает, что вещи меня ненавидят
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
- Федор Сваровский – Путешественники во времени — копенгаген 1969
- Федор Сваровский – Путешественники во времени 9
- Федор Сваровский – Путешественники во времени 7
- Федор Сваровский – Простая история
- Федор Сваровский – Пришельцы убили всех
- Федор Сваровский – Погребение мехоса
- Федор Сваровский – Пилот и Биби Хлотрос
- Федор Сваровский – Об удивительном
- Федор Сваровский – Небесный гость в четыре лепестка
- Федор Сваровский – Насрулло и Курбон
- Федор Сологуб – Золушка
- Федор Сологуб – Знаю знанием последним
- Федор Сологуб – Зальдивши тайный зной страстей, Валерий
- Федор Сологуб – Займитесь чтением в вагоне
- Федор Сологуб – Зачем жемчуг-роса в траве
- Федор Сологуб – Зачем, скажи
- Федор Сологуб – Забыв о счастьи, о весельи
- Федор Сологуб – Я люблю мою темную землю
- Федор Сологуб – Я иду путём опасным
- Федор Сологуб – Я иду от дома к дому
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.