[Editor: This poem by Philip Durham Lorimer was published in Songs and Verses by Philip Durham Lorimer: An Australian Bush Poet, 1901.]
Hear Me, O Night !
Hear me, O Night ! take back the dream !
’Tis all too bright for me;
I would a radiant cloud should hide
Such hallowed majesty :
Within thy folds of silent hours,
Where all is peace and calm,
Let Mem’ry in her faithful trust
Such loveliness embalm :
Take back the dream,
Too bright its beam !
’Tis all too fair for me ;
Let Mem’ry cling
On day’s soft wing,
To charms that dwell with thee.
Hear me, O Night ! take back the dream !
The treasure is thy pearl ;
Another sun than ours must seek
Such beauty to unfurl :
Be thou the keeper of the gem
Locked in thy starry breast,
Where Mem’ry can, in love, enshrine
The jewel in its rest :
Let Love repose,
A folded rose.
Among the sleeping flowers ;
Be thine, O Night,
With silv’ry light,
To robe life’s dreaming hours.
Gulgong, August 1, 1889
Set to Music by Mr. J. M. Stevens, May, 1893.
Source:
E. A. Petherick (editor). Songs and Verses by Philip Durham Lorimer: An Australian Bush Poet, William Clowes and Sons, London, 1901, pages 117-118
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