[Editor: This poem by Louisa Lawson was published in “The Lonely Crossing” and Other Poems (1905).]
A Grave.
In a quiet country churchyard
Where lilies grow tall and white,
And vie with the moist red roses
In tempting the bees to light:
Where the big ripe briar berry,
Red bead-like and bright and gay,
Allures, with the native cherry,
The bright little birds to stay:
Where butterflies black as aces
Detour from their dainty cones,
To beauty spot sculptured faces
And blot the white marble stones:
There is in the path you enter
This ideal burial plot —
Half way betwixt gate and centre, —
One badly neglected spot.
A large heap covers the holding,
And spreads itself out all around;
As if in its girth enfolding
Some treasure beneath the ground.
No cross does it own, nor coping,
No verdure, nor even shade;
But solid it is, and sloping,
Shield-like and undecayed.
Time does not appear to lessen
This heap of unsightly stones,
Nor does it depend or rest on
Its keeping of nameless bones.
Who is he, I thought, that spurneth
The efforts of time to blight?
Who is it that mutely turneth
All steps to the left and right?
I asked for the chart and read on
Its pages yellow and stiff:
“A Hermit, unknown, found dead on
Rocks at the foot of the cliff.”
Source:
Louisa Lawson, “The Lonely Crossing” and Other Poems, Sydney: Dawn Office, [1905], pp. 73-74
Editor’s notes:
betwixt = between (“betwixt” can be abbreviated as “’twixt”)
coping = a permanent structure which covers the surface of a grave; can also refer to: a protective top layer, row, capping, or covering, of a brick or stone wall, especially with a slanted or curved top surface (enabling rain to easily run off the surface)
gay = happy, joyous, carefree; well-decorated, bright, attractive (in modern times it may especially refer to a homosexual, especially a male homosexual; can also refer to something which is no good, pathetic, useless)
girth = the circumference of an object; a person’s waist or middle (especially used regarding someone with a large or fat waist); the part of an animal around which the girth (a strap or band to hold a harness or saddle in place) is fitted
light = alight: descend, get down from (especially regarding descent from a vehicle); descend from the sky and land (may also refer to something being on fire, or something which is lit up)
spurneth = (archaic) spurns
turneth = (archaic) turns
verdure = the lush greenness of flourishing and healthy vegetation
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