[Editor: A poem published in The Australian Town and Country Journal, 4 December 1875.]
Ilma De Murska.
Peerless music, crowned queen,
Rich in dignity serene;
Songstress true, thy strains divine,
Wreath themselves in varying line;
Volumes full, thy notes of sweetness,
Hold our hearts in mutest meekness.
Purest genius, soaring power,
Marvellously precious dower;
Nature’s own unequalled gift,
Exquisitely trained, to lift
Our weak, narrow nature, mean,
Far above those earthly scenes.
My spirit feels thy magic still;
Thy touching spells of music thrill
Yet there thou standest calmly still,
Bewitching us at thy sweet will.
My lay is poor and weak indeed;
Not worthy of the theme’s high meed.
For oh! majestic Queen of Song,
Our warmest thanks to them belong;
And when our bright and Austral Isle
No longer basks in thy loved smile,
May we retain, in echo faint,
Thy melting sweetness; thus to paint
Within our hearts a tribute clear
To music’s worth, when thou ’rt not here.
C. P., Balmain.
Source:
The Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW), 4 December 1875, p. 893 (13th page of that issue)
Editor’s notes:
This poem, by “C. P., Balmain” has been attributed to Menie Parkes (Clarinda Parkes); however, Menie was living in Victoria at the time. It is possible that the poem may have been written by her mother, Lady Clarinda Parkes, whose home was in Balmain, New South Wales.
[Editor: Corrected “they magic” to “thy magic”.]
The Institute of Australian Culture
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