[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).]
The Eyes of Little Charlotte
Now God has made a wistful world
And a woman strangely coy:
Her eyes say come, and go, and come,
And stay and be a boy.
Oh, the eyes of little Charlotte say
Come, kiss me if you can!
But in a trice they change and cry
Go out and be a man.
Oh, the eyes of little Charlotte say
You shall not flinch at pain;
You shall not sigh for the cool cities
Or moan for the soft rain.
The wind shall bite you, throat and cheek;
The sun shall leave its tan;
But the eyes of little Charlotte say
Go out and be a man.
And you shall speak as a man speaks,
Not mealy-mouthed or mild,
But you must go with a girl’s love
For every lisping child;
Nor shall you live in the far clouds
As only dreamers can:
For the eyes of little Charlotte say
Go out and be a man.
And you shall fight as a man fights
And fare as a man may;
And you shall see as giants see
And hear what giants say;
You shall not bide in a safe place
Near by a lady’s fan —
For the eyes of little Charlotte say
Go out and be a man.
And your reward, — the old reward
That is for all who dare,
The long love of a warm woman
And kisses, proud and fair.
Oh, you shall toil for Love — the Law
Since ever Love began —
For the eyes of little Charlotte say
Go out and be a man.
Source:
Shaw Neilson, Heart of Spring, Sydney: The Bookfellow, 1919, page 36-37
Also published in:
John Shaw Neilson, Ballad and Lyrical Poems, Sydney: The Bookfellow in Australia, 1923, pages 44-45
John Shaw Neilson (edited by R. H. Croll), Collected Poems of John Shaw Neilson, Melbourne: Lothian Book Publishing Company, 1934, pages 32-33
Editor’s notes:
bide = remain, stay, wait
mealy-mouthed = speaking in a manner which avoids or evades an issue, being evasive, not being forthright; speaking in a way which is considered to be devious, duplicitous, indirect, or insincere
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