[Editor: A patriotic poem by Daisy Farrell. Published in The Frankston and Somerville Standard, 8 October 1926.] Australia Felix Australia! My country, my heart fills with rapture, At thought of thy beauty in sunshine or rain. Ah! How can my pen all thy sweet aspects … [Read more...] about Australia Felix [poem, 8 October 1926]
good poetry
Surely God was a Lover [poem by John Shaw Neilson]
[Editor: This poem by John Shaw Neilson was published in Heart of Spring (1919), Ballad and Lyrical Poems (1923), and Collected Poems of John Shaw Neilson (1934).] Surely God was a Lover Surely God was a lover when He bade the day begin Soft as a woman’s eyelid — white … [Read more...] about Surely God was a Lover [poem by John Shaw Neilson]
Old Nell Dickerson [poem by John Shaw Neilson]
[Editor: This poem by John Shaw Neilson was published in Heart of Spring (1919), Ballad and Lyrical Poems (1923), and Collected Poems of John Shaw Neilson (1934).] Old Nell Dickerson The young folk heard the old folk say ’twas long ago she came; Some said it was her … [Read more...] about Old Nell Dickerson [poem by John Shaw Neilson]
Teach ’Em To Shoot [poem by “Dryblower” Murphy, 1926]
[Editor: This poem by “Dryblower” Murphy was published in Dryblower’s Verses (1926).] Teach ’Em To Shoot. When you’ve done with your frivol and fooling, Your parlor diversions and games; When your stripling has come from his schooling, Swell-headed with figures and … [Read more...] about Teach ’Em To Shoot [poem by “Dryblower” Murphy, 1926]
Fighting in France [poem by “Dryblower” Murphy, 1926]
[Editor: This poem by “Dryblower” Murphy was published in Dryblower’s Verses (1926).] Fighting in France. Perth daily paper ad.:— “Will some kind person adopt a motherless baby girl? Father killed in France?” Are you list’ning, O, Heavyheart, childless and lone? Are … [Read more...] about Fighting in France [poem by “Dryblower” Murphy, 1926]
Pints That I’ve Refused [poem by “Dryblower” Murphy, 1926]
[Editor: This poem by “Dryblower” Murphy was published in Dryblower’s Verses (1926).] Pints That I’ve Refused. The gaunt earth gasps beneath the sun That breathes hot Hades down, The scrub is burnt a dreary dun, The spinifex is brown. The track is lonely, hard and … [Read more...] about Pints That I’ve Refused [poem by “Dryblower” Murphy, 1926]
Phases [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
[Editor: This poem by Marie E. J. Pitt was published in The Horses of the Hills and Other Verses (1911).] Phases. Just a flush of pleasure And a flash of pain For a half-guessed treasure Found and lost again: Faery fancies flocking, Hopes and fears astart, That’s … [Read more...] about Phases [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
A Gallop of Fire [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
[Editor: This poem by Marie E. J. Pitt was published in The Horses of the Hills and Other Verses (1911).] A Gallop of Fire. When the north wind moans thro’ the blind creek courses And revels with harsh, hot sand, I loose the horses, the wild, red horses, I loose the … [Read more...] about A Gallop of Fire [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
The Talisman [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
[Editor: This poem by Marie E. J. Pitt was published in The Horses of the Hills and Other Verses (1911).] The Talisman. A star above the stormy wrack Of all to-day’s distresses; A glint of gold that threads the black Of thorny wildernesses! We build our castles of … [Read more...] about The Talisman [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
Watching [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
[Editor: This poem by Marie E. J. Pitt was published in The Horses of the Hills and Other Verses (1911).] Watching. I prayed for the wind of the South, As I swung his cradle slow, And my heart was aye in my mouth, Lest the life of my babe should go On the feverish … [Read more...] about Watching [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
The Rebel [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
[Editor: This poem by Marie E. J. Pitt was published in The Horses of the Hills and Other Verses (1911).] The Rebel. Down the Mitchell Kylie bred him, where the rustling reedbeds shiver; Kylie swore the devil fed him with ungodly wind and flame; He was wild as mountain … [Read more...] about The Rebel [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
Ballade of Dreams [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
[Editor: This poem by Marie E. J. Pitt was published in The Horses of the Hills and Other Verses (1911).] Ballade of Dreams. Across the loom the shuttles fly, Like random, rippled lights at play Upon the road where you, where I, Drift down the Valley of To-day; White … [Read more...] about Ballade of Dreams [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
’Twixt Briton and Boer [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
[Editor: This poem by Marie E. J. Pitt was published in The Horses of the Hills and Other Verses (1911).] ’Twixt Briton and Boer. They made a war upon the land — In Freedom’s name, they said — To overthrow the rebel band With Kruger at its head. They made a war upon … [Read more...] about ’Twixt Briton and Boer [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
The Horses of the Hills [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
[Editor: This poem by Marie E. J. Pitt was published in The Horses of the Hills and Other Verses (1911).] The Horses of the Hills. When cohorts of September Are marching down amain, We waken and remember Our fathers’ fields again. Old Winter’s ice-bonds slacken, His … [Read more...] about The Horses of the Hills [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
Where We’ve Dossed [poem, 18 January 1918]
[Editor: A poem published in Aussie: The Australian Soldiers’ Magazine, no. 1, 18 January 1918.] Where We’ve Dossed. We’ve dossed in some queer places Since we came to stoush the Hun, In fact we’ve dossed most everywhere — In Egypt we begun Upon the desert sand, … [Read more...] about Where We’ve Dossed [poem, 18 January 1918]
Lines addressed to Miss ———, of V. D. Land [poem, 9 April 1828]
[Editor: A poem published in The Monitor, 9 April 1828.] Lines addressed to Miss ———, of V. D. Land. It was o’er the tall Pine, on the brow of the mountain, The dew-drops distill’d from their crystalline fountain; When the first tint of morning in purple hues … [Read more...] about Lines addressed to Miss ———, of V. D. Land [poem, 9 April 1828]
We Met [poem, 14 February 1834]
[Editor: A poem, possibly written by Henry Halloran (1811-1893), published in The Australian, 14 February 1834.] We Met. (By H. H.) I. We met — we met in early years, Mere children among flowers; We shared each other’s joys and fears, Each other’s varied … [Read more...] about We Met [poem, 14 February 1834]
The Banks of Wollombi [poem by Basil E. Kendall, 26 February 1861]
[Editor: A poem published in The Empire, 26 February 1861.] The Banks of Wollombi. An Australian Lyric, By Basil E. Kendall Some lovely tints are lingering yet Above the couch of pallid day, Where nature mourns with fond regret For all her treasures snatched … [Read more...] about The Banks of Wollombi [poem by Basil E. Kendall, 26 February 1861]
Recollections [poem, 22 February 1882]
[Editor: A poem published in The South Bourke & Mornington Journal, 22 February 1882.] Recollections. Australia, oh Australia, the beautiful the free, There is no land beneath the sun I love as well as thee:— T’was in Australia’s sunny clime I first did see the … [Read more...] about Recollections [poem, 22 February 1882]
The Cattle-Dog’s Death [poem by Henry Lawson]
[Editor: This poem by Henry Lawson was published in Verses Popular and Humorous, 1900.] The Cattle-Dog’s Death The plains lay bare on the homeward route, And the march was heavy on man and brute ; For the Spirit of Drouth was on all the land, And the white heat danced … [Read more...] about The Cattle-Dog’s Death [poem by Henry Lawson]
Sweeney [poem by Henry Lawson]
[Editor: This poem by Henry Lawson was published in In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses, 1896.] Sweeney It was somewhere in September, and the sun was going down, When I came, in search of ‘copy’, to a Darling-River town; ‘Come-and-have-a-drink’ we’ll … [Read more...] about Sweeney [poem by Henry Lawson]
Mulga-Land [poem by Grant Hervey]
[Editor: This poem by Grant Hervey was published in Australians Yet and Other Verses, 1913.] Mulga-Land Land of stars and stunted gum, where the crawling camels come To the “soaks” at night, like phantoms freighted down with pain and woe ; Land of lustre and of love, … [Read more...] about Mulga-Land [poem by Grant Hervey]