[Editor: This poem by W. T. Goodge was published in The Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW), 31 December 1905.]
In Memoriam.
Victor John Daley
(For the “Sunday Times.”)
May not a poetaster sing
A requiem for a poet-king?
May not a singer of jingling rhymes,
Frivolous ballads of passing times,
Yet have a thought for the nobler theme
Of the bard whose verses reign supreme?
Just as the man may gaze afar
From the sordid earth to the gleaming star;
Just as the heart of the oaf will bound
When the glorious chords of Mozart sound;
Just as the rude may play a part
In homage before the gems of Art!
So may the poetaster sing
A requiem for the poet-king!
Of Austral poets, large or small,
Daley was greatest of them all;
And held in reverent regard
By even me — the frivolous bard!
— W. T. GOODGE.
Source:
The Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW), 31 December 1905, p. 5
Editor’s notes:
Austral = of or relating to Australia or Australasia; Australian, Australasian; an abbreviation of Australia, Australian, Australasia, Australasian; in a wider context, of or relating to the southern hemisphere; southern, especially a southern wind
Mozart = Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), an Austrian composer
oaf = someone who is big, stupid, slow-witted, clumsy, awkward (usually refers to an adult male)
poetaster = someone who writes inferior poetry
rude = primitive, raw, or rough, or in an unfinished state or natural condition (distinct from the modern usage of “rude” as someone being discourteous or ill-mannered)
The Institute of Australian Culture
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