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Some day we may drop the Farewell Light; and lose the winds of home
But where shall we win to a land so bright; however far we roam?
We shall long for the fields of Maoriland; to pass as we used to pass
Knee…deep in the seeding tussock; and the long lush English…grass。
And we may travel a weary way ere we come to a sight as grand
As the lingering flush of the sun's last ray on the peaks of Maoriland。
George Charles Whitney。
Sunset
Behind the golden western hills
The sun goes down; a founder'd bark;
Only a mighty sadness fills
The silence of the dark。
O twilight sad with wistful eyes;
Restore in ruth again to me
The shadow of the peace that lies
Beyond the purple sea。
The sun of my great joy goes down;
Against the paling heights afar;
Gleams out like some glad angel's crown;
A yellow evening star;
The glory from the western hills
Falls fading; spark on spark;
Only a mighty sadness fills
The spaces of the dark。
James Lister Cuthbertson。 'reprise'
Ode to Apollo
〃Tandem venias precamur
Nube candentes humeros amictus
Augur Apollo。〃
Lord of the golden lyre
Fraught with the Dorian fire;
Oh! fair…haired child of Leto; come again;
And if no longer smile
Delphi or Delos' isle;
Come from the depth of thine Aetnean glen;
Where in the black ravine
Thunders the foaming green
Of waters writhing far from mortals' ken;
Come o'er the sparkling brine;
And bring thy train divine
The sweet…voiced and immortal violet…crowned Nine。
For here are richer meads;
And here are goodlier steeds
Than ever graced the glorious land of Greece;
Here waves the yellow corn;
Here is the olive born
The gray…green gracious harbinger of peace;
Here too hath taken root
A tree with golden fruit;
In purple clusters hangs the vine's increase;
And all the earth doth wear
The dry clear Attic air
That lifts the soul to liberty; and frees the heart from care。
Or if thy wilder mood
Incline to solitude;
Eternal verdure girds the lonely hills;
Through the green gloom of ferns
Softly the sunset burns;
Cold from the granite flow the mountain rills;
And there are inner shrines
Made by the slumberous pines;
Where the rapt heart with contemplation fills;
And from wave…stricken shores
Deep wistful music pours
And floods the tempest…shaken forest corridors。
Oh; give the gift of gold
The human heart to hold
With liquid glamour of the Lesbian line;
With Pindar's lava glow;
With Sophocles' calm flow;
Or Aeschylean rapture airy fine;
Or with thy music's close
Thy last autumnal rose
Theocritus of Sicily; divine;
O Pythian Archer strong;
Time cannot do thee wrong;
With thee they live for ever; thy nightingales of song。
We too are island…born;
Oh; leave us not in scorn
A songless people never yet was great。
We; suppliants at thy feet;
Await thy muses sweet
Amid the laurels at thy temple gate;
Crownless and voiceless yet;
But on our brows is set
The dim unwritten prophecy of fate;
To mould from out of mud
An empire with our blood;
To wage eternal warfare with the fire and flood。
Lord of the minstrel choir;
Oh; grant our hearts' desire;
To sing of truth invincible in might;
Of love surpassing death
That fears no fiery breath;
Of ancient inborn reverence for right;
Of that sea…woven spell
That from Trafalgar fell
And keeps the star of duty in our sight:
Oh; give the sacred fire;
And our weak lips inspire
With laurels of thy song and lightnings of thy lyre。
Notes on the Poems
Wentworth; 〃Australasia〃: ‘Warragamba' a tributary of the Nepean;
the upper part of the Hawkesbury River; New South Wales。
Rowe; 〃Soul Ferry〃: 〃Founded on a note by Tzetzes upon Lycophron;
quoted in Keightley's ‘Mythology of Greece and Rome'。〃 Author's Note。
Parkes; 〃The Buried Chief〃: Sir James Martin; born 1820;
Premier and subsequently Chief Justice of New South Wales;
died 4th November; 1886。
Gordon; 〃A Dedication〃: The first six stanzas of The Dedication of
〃Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes〃 to the author of 〃Holmby House〃
(Whyte Melville)。
Gordon; 〃Thora's Song〃: First printed in ‘The Australasian'
under the title of 〃Frustra〃。
Gordon; 〃The Sick Stock…rider〃: First appeared in ‘The Colonial Monthly'
without the final stanza here printed; which was preserved
by Mr。 J。 J。 Shillinglaw。
Kendall; 〃Prefatory Sonnets〃: The phrase 〃tormented and awry
with passion〃 also appears in Walter Pater's essay on 〃Aesthetic Poetry〃;
which; according to Mr。 Ferris Greenslet's monograph on Pater;
was written in 1868; but first published in ‘Appreciations'; 1889。
〃Leaves from Australian Forests〃; in which these sonnets were first printed;
was published in Melbourne in 1869。
Kendall; 〃To a Mountain〃: Dedicatory verses of 〃Songs from the Mountains〃。
Kendall; 〃Araluen〃: The author's daughter; named after a town
in the Shoalhaven District; New South Wales。
Kendall; 〃Hy…Brasil〃: Hy…Brasil; or Tir…Nan…Oge; is the fabled
Island of the Blessed; the paradise of ancient Ireland。
Kendall; 〃Outre Mer〃: From a poem left unfinished at the author's death。
First printed in 〃Poems〃 (1886)。
Clarke; 〃The Song of Tigilau〃: 〃Tigilau; the son of Tui Viti〃;
an attempt to paraphrase a legend of Samoa; is remarkable
as evidence of direct intercourse between Samoa and Fiji;
and as showing by the use of the term 〃Tui Viti〃 that a king once reigned
over ALL Fiji。 The singularly poetic and rhythmical original
will be found in a paper contributed by Mr。 Pritchard; F。A。S。I。; etc。;
to the Anthropological Society of London。〃 Author's Note。
Moloney; 〃Melbourne〃: First printed in ‘The Australasian'
over the signature 〃Australis〃。
Domett; 〃An Invitation〃: First printed in 〃Flotsam and Jetsam〃: reprinted;
with alterations; as Proem to 〃Ranolf and Amohia〃; Second Edition; 1883。
Domett; 〃A Maori Girl's Song〃: 〃A very free paraphrase of a song
in Sir George Grey's collection。 ‘Ropa' is a declaration of love
by pinching the fingers。〃 Author's Note。
Stephens; 〃Day〃 & 〃Night〃: Stanzas from 〃Convict Once〃
'pp。 336…7; 297…9 respectively of 〃Poetical Works〃 (1902)'。
Foott; 〃Where the Pelican Builds〃: 〃The unexplored parts of Australia
are sometimes spoken of by the bushmen of Western Queensland
as the home of the Pelican; a bird whose nesting…place;
so far as the writer knows; is seldom; if ever; found。〃 Author's Note。
Foott; 〃New Country〃: ‘Gidya' a Queensland and N。S。W。 aboriginal word
for a tree of the acacia species (A。 homalophylla)。
‘Clay…Pan' a shallow depression of the ground on Australian plains;
whose thin clayey surface retains water for a considerable time。
Wilson; 〃Fairyland〃: ‘Parson Bird' The Tui; or New Zealand mocking bird。
The male has tufts of curled white feathers under the neck;
like a clergyman's bands。
Farrell; 〃Australia to England〃: First printed; under the title of
〃Ave Imperatrix〃; in ‘The Daily Telegraph' (Sydney); on June 22; 1897;
the day of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee。
F。 Adams; 〃Gordon's Grave〃: Adam Lindsay Gordon is buried
in Brighton (Victoria) Cemetery。 Above the grave is erected
a shattered column crowned with a laurel wreath。
Evans; 〃A Pastoral〃: ‘Apple…tree' an indigenous Australian tree;
so called from a supposed resemblance to the English apple…tree;
but bearing no edible fruit。
O'Hara; 〃Flinders〃: ‘Flinders' Matthew Flinders first came to Australia
with Bass and Hunter in 1795; and made several heroic voyages
around Australian coasts。
Jephcott; 〃A Ballad of the last King of Thule〃: ‘Mannan' the ancient
bardic name of the Isle of Man。
‘Eire' the ancient name of Ireland。
‘The Isle of Apple…trees' 〃Emhain Ablach〃; the Isle of Arran。
This was the land of faery to the Northern and Western Gaels。
Mackay; 〃The Burial of Sir John Mackenzie〃: ‘Sir John Mackenzie'
Born 1838; for many years Minister for Lands in New Zealand。 Died 1891。
Holy Hill Puketapu; a hill sacred to the Maoris on the Otago coast。
Lawson; 〃Andy's gone with Cattle〃: ‘Riders' timber used to hold down
the bark roofs of primitive bush houses。
Lawson; 〃Out Back〃: ‘Mulga' an aboriginal name given to various trees
of the acacia family (A。 aneura)。