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:
- Reverie Of Ormuz The Persian
- Fidele by William Shakespeare
- An Hymn To Humanity by Phillis Wheatley
- Christabel by Samuel Coleridge
- A Woman’s Last Word by Robert Browning
- Hope for a New World by Raj Napal
- Ametas And Thestylis Making Hay-Ropes poem – Andrew Marvell poems
- My prayers must meet a brazen heaven poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Cuchulain Comforted by William Butler Yeats
- Михаил Лермонтов – Я счастлив, тайный яд течёт в моей крови
- He Tells Of The Perfect Beauty by William Butler Yeats
- A Promise to California. by Walt Whitman
- Sonnet 115: Those lines that I before have writ do lie by William Shakespeare
- Bloodstains from Iraq poem – Yuyutsu Sharma poems | Poetry Monster
- Олег Бундур – Уроки
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 – Не юбилейте
- Владимир Маяковский – Не вразброд, не случайно (Главполитпросвет)
- Владимир Маяковский – Не увлекайтесь нами
- Владимир Маяковский – Не только для того, чтоб тебя накормить… (Главполитпросвет №2)
- Владимир Маяковский – Не предаваясь “большевистским бредням” (Красный перец)
- Владимир Маяковский – Не пей сырой воды! (Главполитпросвет №230)
- Владимир Маяковский – Не эти правильно революцию празднуют… (РОСТА №399)
- Владимир Маяковский – Не эти правильно Октябрь празднуют… (РОСТА №398)
- Владимир Маяковский – Наврут полный короб… (Главполитпросвет №68)
- Владимир Маяковский – Наши поправки в англо-советский договор (Красный перец)
- Владимир Маяковский – Наше воскресенье
- Владимир Маяковский – Наш паровоз, стрелой лети
- Владимир Маяковский – Нас шахтер углем поздравит… (РОСТА)
- Владимир Маяковский – Нас потеснили… (РОСТА №337)
- Владимир Маяковский – Нападали белогвардейцы на Донецкий бассейн… (РОСТА №611)
- Владимир Маяковский – Нам бы только вот это воскресити… (РОСТА)
- Владимир Маяковский – Головотяпам
- Владимир Маяковский – Голос Красной площади
- Владимир Маяковский – Голодные! Пан Украину грабит… (РОСТА №106)
- Владимир Маяковский – Глупая история
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.