[Editor: This poem by Mary Gilmore was published in The Lone Hand (Sydney, NSW), 1 June 1914.]
Bondi
By Mary Gilmore
EVENING.
Ben Buckler sharp against the sky,
Gulls wheeling seaward, scarcely heard their cry;
The clangor of the City dying down
To muted murmurs out of distance blown.
TWILIGHT.
No sound, no stir to break upon the calm;
Peace, widening on the air — a silent psalm
That rises upward toward the first white star,
Opening the door of Heaven, afar.
MOON-RISE.
Slow falls the dark. The arrows of the night
Flash on the void and pass from sight,
Where in the vault of Heaven star calls to star.
Darkling the waters lap along the sands…..
Then, sudden, light that rims
Horizons far …..
And in the sea the moonlight swims
With jewelled hands.
Source:
The Lone Hand (Sydney, NSW), 1 June 1914, p. 37
Editor’s notes:
Ben Buckler = the northern headland of Bondi Bay (Sydney, NSW), located to the east of Bondi Beach; a locality situated around the northern headland of Bondi Bay
clangor = a loud clanging sound, especially one that goes on for a while, especially regarding the harsh sound of metal being struck or the loud resonant sound of metal parts in motion (e.g. the noise emitted by a bell, the hammering of metal, the rumble of a tram) (also spelt: clangour)
psalm = a religious or sacred hymn, song, or poem for use in the worship of God (especially a psalm in the Book of Psalms, in the Bible)
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