[Editor: This poem by “R.G.S.” — a pseudonym of John Neilson (1844-1922) — was published in The Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA), 29 March 1879.]
Home.
I’ve seen the sunlight fade and die
In yonder western arch afar,
Where streaming glories lit the sky,
While softly shone the evening star;
It trembles o’er the desert line,
Where dusky shadows now are thrown;
It sets behind the dark green pines
Like this at Home.
’Tis the sweet hour of twilight calm,
When night puts on her starry gems;
The sleeping flowers are breathing balm,
Remote from dwelling place of men;
Oh! how we miss the sweet good-night
From infant lips with loving tone,
When thoughts, like birds on homeward flight,
Fly back to Home.
Bright Osias, in life dreary sand
The thoughts of thee the heart still cheers —
Cool shadow in the weary land;
Thy name, sweet Home, to all is dear,
When life’s last shadows lengthen out,
And all is dark and cheerless grown;
’Tis sweet to rest the weary head,
And sleep at Home.
The sailor on the stormy sea,
With heart so manly, true, and brave,
While rocking on the angry surge
His lone bark climbs the midnight wave;
The storm-beat ship flies on her path,
Scourged by the winds and angry foam;
E’en then his thoughts stray far away
To scenes of Home.
The dying soldier on the field,
Where England’s colours blood-stain’d lie,
Ere his last breath of life he yields
Sees dear Home shadows flitting by;
While life and light is fading out —
Before him lies the vast unknown —
He sees the hawthorn scented lanes
Of childhood’s Home.
For those that fell — Heaven rest their souls —
No trumpet swells nor clarion rings,
No cannon peals its thunder-roll
Of triumph till the blue vault rings;
But widowed mothers turn away,
Their children’s hands clasped in their own;
The little wistful faces say,
“He comes not Home.”
And when the messenger of death
Lays his hand on the silver strings,
He stalks unchallenged through the guards
That keep the palace halls of kings;
His presence chills the darkened room,
Though none may hear the still small tone;
Daughters arise! not here thy rest,
Not here thy Home.
Wealth sinks and dies on couch of down,
The carved stone its loss deplores;
Toil droops unnoticed by the crowd,
Unchained at length from labour’s oar;
And when life’s weary day is closed,
Like little children weary grown,
We wander back to mother earth
To sleep at Home.
R.G.S.
Penola.
Source:
The Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA), 29 March 1879, p. 4
Editor’s notes:
balm = an oily sweet-smelling cream, liquid, or lotion (made from certain tropical plants, especially of the genus Commiphora) which is rubbed into someone’s skin to heal or soothe the skin, especially used to reduce the feeling of pain or to treat wounds; a soothing restorative substance; something which is soothing, comforting, healing, relaxing, or which makes someone feel better (e.g. peaceful-looking art, soft-sounding pleasant music, cheerful humour)
bark = (also spelt “barque”) a small sailing ship in general, or specifically a sailing ship with three (or more) masts, in which the aftmost mast is fore-and-aft rigged, whilst the other masts are square-rigged
blue vault = the daytime sky
down = the down feathers (also known as “plumules”) of birds, being the small soft fine feathers that cover and insulate the body of a bird (very young birds have only down feathers, until such time as their ordinary feathers grow); down feathers are utilised as a thermal insulator and padding, and are used in bedding (duvets and featherbeds), cushions, jackets, pillows, and sleeping bags
e’en = (archaic) a contraction of “even”
ere = (archaic) before (from the Middle English “er”, itself from the Old English “aer”, meaning early or soon)
foam = ocean; sea
o’er = (archaic) over (pronounced the same as “oar”, “or”, and “ore”)
hawthorn = a genus of several hundred species of shrubs and trees, called Crataegus, widely known as “hawthorn” (also called: hawberry, Mayflower, May-tree, quickthorn, thornapple, and whitethorn), in the family Rosaceae (the plant is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America), especially referring to the common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna); can also refer to the related genus Rhaphiolepis (native to East Asia and Southeast Asia)
See: 1) “Rhaphiolepis”, Wikipedia
2) “Crataegus_monogyna”, Wikipedia
3) “Rhaphiolepis”, Wikipedia
stain’d =(vernacular) stained
thee = (archaic) you (regarding a person as the object in a sentence)
thy = (archaic) your
’tis = (archaic) a contraction of “it is”
yonder = at a distance; far away
[Editor: Changed “Fly back to home” to “Fly back to Home” (capitalised the word “Home”, in line with all the other instances of that word in this poem).]
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