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:
- In Memoriam A. H. H.: 5. Sometimes I Hold it half a Sin poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Wanderer
- Death & Co. by Sylvia Plath
- The Dead Woman poem – Pablo Neruda
- The Emigrant
- My Winter Rose poem – Alfred Austin
- Awake by Sara Herlihy
- PLEADING by Satish Verma
- The Pleasures of Memory
- Robert Burns: Farewell Song To The Banks Of Ayr: “I composed this song as I conveyed my chest so far on my road to Greenock, where I was to embark in a few days for Jamaica. I meant it as my farewell dirge to my native land.”-R. B.
- Владимир Высоцкий – В тюрьме Таганской нас стало мало
- The Moods by William Butler Yeats
- Hughley Steeple poem – A. E. Housman
- Immortal Indian Legend by Vasishta Sharma Gudi
- The Apple Trees at Olema by Robert Hass
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
- Владимир Маяковский – Забудем солдатчину!.. (РОСТА №425)
- Владимир Маяковский – За женщиной
- Владимир Маяковский – За истекший декабрь добыча по Подмосковному… (РОСТА №896)
- Владимир Маяковский – За четыре года советской власти… (Главполитпросвет №248)
- Владимир Маяковский – За 10 месяцев 1920 года… (РОСТА №748)
- Владимир Маяковский – Юг завоевала победа… (РОСТА №568)
- Владимир Маяковский – Все на фронт добровольцами! Пока… (РОСТА)
- Владимир Маяковский – Все давайте советской республике, все получите от советской республики (РОСТА № 293)
- Владимир Маяковский – Все буржуи мчат на помощь Врангелю… (РОСТА №410)
- Владимир Маяковский – Врангеля мы добили… (РОСТА №621)
- Владимир Маяковский – Врангель (РОСТА №477)
- Владимир Маяковский – Врангель прет… (РОСТА №363)
- Владимир Маяковский – Врангель – фон… (РОСТА №472)
- Владимир Маяковский – Враги хлеба
- Владимир Маяковский – Вперед, комсомольцы
- Владимир Маяковский – Вот за то, что я пою… (Главполитпросвет №153)
- Владимир Маяковский – Вот советской России враги. С каждым боритесь, пока не погиб (РОСТА № 179)
- Владимир Маяковский – Вот по борьбе с голодом отчет (Главполитпросвет №320)
- Владимир Маяковский – Вот о помощи голодающим отчет (Главполитпросвет №367)
- Владимир Маяковский – Вот молочный налог… (Главполитпросвет №217)
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.