[Editor: This poem by Louisa Lawson was published in “The Lonely Crossing” and Other Poems (1905).]
Light in Darkness.
Sickness, sorrow, death, disgrace,
All of these I have to face;
Pain of body, fret of mind,
Poverty, with bread to find.
Restless day and sleepless night,
Dread of darkness, fear of light.
Not a soul to care for me,
Not a friend on earth but thee.
And thou hast a frightened stare
’Neath thine eyelids, unaware.
And, like Him Who raised the dead,
Hast not where to lay thy head.
But because thou lovest me,
For thy sake I’ll fight us free
From this deadlock of despair,
From this hell, to heav’n, I swear!
Source:
Louisa Lawson, “The Lonely Crossing” and Other Poems, Sydney: Dawn Office, [1905], p. 26
Editor’s notes:
“Hast not where to lay thy head” means “Have not anywhere to lay your head” (the line is the same in the 1909 edition, p. 26).
hast = (archaic) have
heav’n = (vernacular) a contraction of “heaven”
Him = in a religious context, and capitalized, a reference to God or Jesus
lovest = (archaic) love
’neath = (vernacular) beneath
thee = (archaic) you
thine = (archaic) your; yours
thou = (archaic) you
thy = (archaic) your
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