[Editor: This poem by Charles Harpur was published in The Bushrangers; A Play in Five Acts, and Other Poems (1853). The poem was not given a title on its page in the book; however, it was listed on the Contents page as “The manifold hills”.]
[The Manifold Hills]
The manifold hills, forsaken of the sun,
Are dusking into one
Featureless Mightiness gloomed up with dun,
And in the solitude of heaven afar
There shineth a sole star:
Even so the memory of one adored
With all Affection’s hoard
Of golden feelings treasured up for truth
In vain throughout our youth,
A far bright mystery, still shines apart
O’er the wide vacancy of Love’s lone heart!
Source:
Charles Harpur, The Bushrangers; A Play in Five Acts, and Other Poems, Sydney: W. R. Piddington, 1853, page 106
Editor’s notes:
dun = dark, dusky; dull; gloomy (may also refer to a greyish-brown or sandy-grey colour, especially regarding the coat of a horse; may also refer to a horse of such colour)
o’er = over (pronounced the same as “oar”, “or”, and “ore”)
Old spelling in the original text:
shineth (shines)
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