an anthology of australian verse-第8节
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But; when the happy birds
Are singing in the sunny rain;
I think I hear its words。
I think I hear the echo still
Of long…forgotten tones;
When evening winds are on the hill
And sunset fires the cones;
But only in the hours supreme;
With songs of land and sea;
The lyrics of the leaf and stream;
This echo comes to me。
No longer doth the earth reveal
Her gracious green and gold;
I sit where youth was once; and feel
That I am growing old。
The lustre from the face of things
Is wearing all away;
Like one who halts with tired wings;
I rest and muse to…day。
There is a river in the range
I love to think about;
Perhaps the searching feet of change
Have never found it out。
Ah! oftentimes I used to look
Upon its banks; and long
To steal the beauty of that brook
And put it in a song。
I wonder if the slopes of moss;
In dreams so dear to me
The falls of flower; and flower…like floss
Are as they used to be!
I wonder if the waterfalls;
The singers far and fair;
That gleamed between the wet; green walls;
Are still the marvels there!
Ah! let me hope that in that place
Those old familiar things
To which I turn a wistful face
Have never taken wings。
Let me retain the fancy still
That; past the lordly range;
There always shines; in folds of hill;
One spot secure from change!
I trust that yet the tender screen
That shades a certain nook
Remains; with all its gold and green;
The glory of the brook。
It hides a secret to the birds
And waters only known:
The letters of two lovely words
A poem on a stone。
Perhaps the lady of the past
Upon these lines may light;
The purest verses; and the last;
That I may ever write:
She need not fear a word of blame:
Her tale the flowers keep
The wind that heard me breathe her name
Has been for years asleep。
But in the night; and when the rain
The troubled torrent fills;
I often think I see again
The river in the hills;
And when the day is very near;
And birds are on the wing;
My spirit fancies it can hear
The song I cannot sing。
Hy…Brasil
〃Daughter;〃 said the ancient father; pausing by the evening sea;
〃Turn thy face towards the sunset turn thy face and kneel with me!
Prayer and praise and holy fasting; lips of love and life of light;
These and these have made thee perfect shining saint with seraph's sight!
Look towards that flaming crescent look beyond that glowing space
Tell me; sister of the angels; what is beaming in thy face?〃
And the daughter; who had fasted; who had spent her days in prayer;
Till the glory of the Saviour touched her head and rested there;
Turned her eyes towards the sea…line saw beyond the fiery crest;
Floating over waves of jasper; far Hy…Brasil in the West。
All the calmness and the colour all the splendour and repose;
Flowing where the sunset flowered; like a silver…hearted rose!
There indeed was singing Eden; where the great gold river runs
Past the porch and gates of crystal; ringed by strong and shining ones!
There indeed was God's own garden; sailing down the sapphire sea
Lawny dells and slopes of summer; dazzling stream and radiant tree!
Out against the hushed horizon out beneath the reverent day;
Flamed the Wonder on the waters flamed; and flashed; and passed away。
And the maiden who had seen it felt a hand within her own;
And an angel that we know not led her to the lands unknown。
Never since hath eye beheld it never since hath mortal; dazed
By its strange; unearthly splendour; on the floating Eden gazed!
Only once since Eve went weeping through a throng of glittering wings;
Hath the holy seen Hy…Brasil where the great gold river sings!
Only once by quiet waters; under still; resplendent skies;
Did the sister of the seraphs kneel in sight of Paradise!
She; the pure; the perfect woman; sanctified by patient prayer;
Had the eyes of saints of Heaven; all their glory in her hair:
Therefore God the Father whispered to a radiant spirit near
〃Show Our daughter fair Hy…Brasil show her this; and lead her here。〃
But beyond the halls of sunset; but within the wondrous West;
On the rose…red seas of evening; sails the Garden of the Blest。
Still the gates of glassy beauty; still the walls of glowing light;
Shine on waves that no man knows of; out of sound and out of sight。
Yet the slopes and lawns of lustre; yet the dells of sparkling streams;
Dip to tranquil shores of jasper; where the watching angel beams。
But; behold! our eyes are human; and our way is paved with pain;
We can never find Hy…Brasil; never see its hills again!
Never look on bays of crystal; never bend the reverent knee
In the sight of Eden floating floating on the sapphire sea!
Outre Mer
I see; as one in dreaming;
A broad; bright; quiet sea;
Beyond it lies a haven
The only home for me。
Some men grow strong with trouble;
But all my strength is past;
And tired and full of sorrow;
I long to sleep at last。
By force of chance and changes
Man's life is hard at best;
And; seeing rest is voiceless;
The dearest thing is rest。
Beyond the sea behold it;
The home I wish to seek;
The refuge of the weary;
The solace of the weak!
Sweet angel fingers beckon;
Sweet angel voices ask
My soul to cross the waters;
And yet I dread the task。
God help the man whose trials
Are tares that he must reap!
He cannot face the future
His only hope is sleep。
Across the main a vision
Of sunset coasts; and skies;
And widths of waters gleaming;
Enchant my human eyes。
I; who have sinned and suffered;
Have sought with tears have sought
To rule my life with goodness;
And shape it to my thought。
And yet there is no refuge
To shield me from distress;
Except the realm of slumber
And great forgetfulness。
Marcus Clarke。
The Song of Tigilau
The song of Tigilau the brave;
Sina's wild lover;
Who across the heaving wave
From Samoa came over:
Came over; Sina; at the setting moon!
The moon shines round and bright;
She; with her dark…eyed maidens at her side;
Watches the rising tide。
While balmy breathes the starry southern night;
While languid heaves the lazy southern tide;
The rising tide; O Sina; and the setting moon!
The night is past; is past and gone;
The moon sinks to the West;
The sea…heart beats opprest;
And Sina's passionate breast
Heaves like the sea; when the pale moon has gone;
Heaves like the passionate sea; Sina; left by the moon alone!
Silver on silver sands; the rippling waters meet
Will he come soon?
The rippling waters kiss her delicate feet;
The rippling waters; lisping low and sweet;
Ripple with the tide;
The rising tide;
The rising tide; O Sina; and the setting moon!
He comes! her lover!
Tigilau; the son of Tui Viti。
Her maidens round her hover;
The rising waves her white feet cover。
O Tigilau; son of Tui Viti;
Through the mellow dusk thy proas glide;
So soon!
So soon by the rising tide;
The rising tide; my Sina; and the setting moon!
The mooring…poles are left;
The whitening waves are cleft;
By the prows of Tui Viti!
By the sharp keels of Tui Viti!
Broad is the sea; and deep;
The yellow Samoans sleep;
But they will wake and weep
Weep in their luxurious odorous vales;
While the land breeze swells the sails
Of Tui Viti!
Tui Viti far upon the rising tide;
The rising tide
The rising tide; my Sina; beneath the setting moon!
She leaps to meet him!
Her mouth to greet him
Burns at his own。
Away! To the canoes;
To the yoked war canoes!
The sea in murmurous tone
Whispers the story of their loves;
Re…echoes the story of their loves
The story of Tui Viti;
Of Sina and Tui Viti;
By the rising tide;
The rising tide; Sina; beneath the setting moon!
She has gone!
She has fled!
Sina!
Sina; for whom the warriors decked their shining hair;
Wreathing with pearls their bosoms brown and bare;
Flinging beneath her dainty feet
Mats crimson with the feathers of the parrakeet。
Ho; Samoans! rouse your warriors full soon;
For Sina is across the rippling wave;
With Tigilau; the bold and brave。
Far; far upon the rising tide!
Far upon the rising tide!
Far upon the rising tide; Sina; beneath the setting moon。
Patrick Moloney。
Melbourne
O sweet Queen…city of the golden South;
Piercing the evening with thy star…lit spires;
Thou wert a witness when I kissed the mouth
Of her whose eyes outblazed the skye