[Editor: This poem by Mary Eliza Fullerton was published in Moods and Melodies: Sonnets and Lyrics (1908).]
Colour. — II.
The Artist of the sky, and earth, and sea,
From flowing East to far descending West;
On the bold hill and under ocean’s breast, —
She finds all Forms wherever they may be,
And dyes them by her lovely artistry;
Touches the unborn child, the bird in nest:
Artist or savage, who shall love her best?
Painter that stirs the heart, and bends the knee.
When love her best — in flashing tropic noon,
Or when in rich Auroras on the ice
She flames, or when the mystic midnight moon
Veils the wild crimson till we lose the boon
Of Colour, and the frightened senses swoon,
On ghastly vale and weird precipice?
Source:
Mary E. Fullerton, Moods and Melodies: Sonnets and Lyrics, Melbourne: Thomas C. Lothian, 1908, p. 15
Editor’s notes:
Aurora = the dawn (from Aurora, goddess of the dawn in Roman mythology)
boon = something which is beneficial, helpful or useful; a blessing, a godsend; (archaic) a favour or request; (archaic) bountiful, generous, kind, pleasant; a close or special companion or friend; convivial, jovial, merry (regarding a companion or friend)
vale = valley
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