[Editor: This poem by Louisa Lawson was published in “The Lonely Crossing” and Other Poems (1905).]
Back Again.
Oh, my boy, come in, do,
You are back at last;
Years since last we saw you —
How the time has passed!
Have a bath and shave first?
No? A cup of tea?
Think you want a rest worst?
Dear, oh deary me!
Look, dear, at your boots, too,
All cut with the rocks;
And you haven’t, have you,
Any mended socks?
They are always tearing?
Threw them all away?
Alberts you are wearing?
Goodness, what are they?
Felt that you were coming,
So I wrote to Bob;
He says things are humming,
And you’ll get a job.
Now, dear, don’t come near me,
You’re all over dust;
Can you smoke? Oh, dear me,
If you really must.
Source:
Louisa Lawson, “The Lonely Crossing” and Other Poems, Sydney: Dawn Office, [1905], pp. 5-6
Editor’s notes:
There are some minor differences between this version of the poem and the version published in The Dawn (Sydney, NSW) on 1 July 1904. There were several differences in the punctuation used; however, the most significant differences were:
1904: You’ve come back at last,
1905: You are back at last;
1904: Two years since we saw you,
1905: Years since last we saw you —
1904: Look, boy, at your boots, too,
1905: Look, dear, at your boots, too,
1904: Have you brought home with you
1905: And you haven’t, have you,
1904: ’Spose so if you must.
1905: If you really must.
Alberts = Prince Albert footwear, evening slippers named after Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819-1861) who was the consort (1840-1861) of Queen Victoria; Prince Albert slippers were made of velvet, with leather soles, and were commonly decorated with a bow, or with the owner’s initials embroidered in gold
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