[Editor: This poem by Louis Esson was published in Red Gums and Other Verses (1912).] Progress. Folk-song, temple, sacred trees, In the early world were these. Red brick chimneys, trade, machines, Man has learned what Progress means. Source: Louis Esson, Red … [Read more...] about Progress [poem by Louis Esson]
year1912
The Monk and the Faun [poem by Louis Esson]
[Editor: This poem by Louis Esson was published in Red Gums and Other Verses (1912).] The Monk and the Faun. Clear tolled the urgent matin bell. Fra Angelo, with downward glance, Thrice crossed himself, and left the cell, All in the morning’s radiance, To grub the … [Read more...] about The Monk and the Faun [poem by Louis Esson]
Change [poem by Louis Esson]
[Editor: This poem by Louis Esson was published in Red Gums and Other Verses (1912).] Change. Everything fades and passes Like dew from the summer grasses Thebes and Memphis of old The dust of ages hold. Pale scholars now adore The Cretan Minotaur. And wild goats … [Read more...] about Change [poem by Louis Esson]
Caprice [poem by Louis Esson]
[Editor: This poem by Louis Esson was published in Red Gums and Other Verses (1912).] Caprice. (A Summer’s Day, Sydney Harbour). Blue and gold, and mist and sunlight, Veils of colour blent and blown In melodic monotone. Dark and bright, and white and dun … [Read more...] about Caprice [poem by Louis Esson]
Lament for the Dying Moon [poem by Louis Esson]
[Editor: This poem by Louis Esson was published in Red Gums and Other Verses (1912).] Lament for the Dying Moon. O little Moon, O little silver Moon, The reeds are trembling by the lone lagoon For you are fading, fading like a flower A tropic night has quenched in one … [Read more...] about Lament for the Dying Moon [poem by Louis Esson]
Hymn to the Earth [poem by Louis Esson]
[Editor: This poem by Louis Esson was published in Red Gums and Other Verses (1912).] Hymn to the Earth. We praise the Earth, the Mother Earth, for ever old and young, From whom the gods have taken birth, and men and beasts have sprung. She is Demeter, Isis, or is … [Read more...] about Hymn to the Earth [poem by Louis Esson]
Red Gums [poem by Louis Esson]
[Editor: This poem by Louis Esson was published in Red Gums and Other Verses (1912).] Red Gums. Chaucer’s love of English trees Laughs along the centuries. Mud-smeared saints, by Ganga stream Ever of the Lotus dream. Palmers seek the Cross of Christ, Merchants, wood … [Read more...] about Red Gums [poem by Louis Esson]
Red Gums and Other Verses [by Louis Esson, 1912]
[Editor: This book of poetry by Louis Esson was published in 1912. The inclusion of the heading “Bush Songs”, in the list of contents, is a reference to “Swinging Douglas” and “A Bullock-Driver’s Song”.] Red Gums and Other Verses by Louis Esson CONTENTS. Red … [Read more...] about Red Gums and Other Verses [by Louis Esson, 1912]
The Sodawater Strike [poem by “Dryblower” Murphy, 21 January 1912]
[Editor: A poem by “Dryblower” Murphy. Published in The Sunday Times (Perth, WA), 21 January 1912.] The Sodawater Strike. I’m a unionist determined, Though I’ve never joined as one; I ’ate the rich and ermined, Every blarsted mother’s son. I reckonize that Laber ’As … [Read more...] about The Sodawater Strike [poem by “Dryblower” Murphy, 21 January 1912]
A Draught [poem by Agnes L. Storrie, 11 May 1912]
[Editor: A poem by Agnes L. Storrie. Published in The Australasian, 11 May 1912.] A Draught. Give me to drink of love’s own cup, No flat and home-brewed potion, Drawn from th’ emasculated lees Of orthodox emotion; Nor cheap and dull domestic draught, That every lip … [Read more...] about A Draught [poem by Agnes L. Storrie, 11 May 1912]
[The problem of immigration and White Australia], by Sir John Foster Fraser [1912]
[Editor: The British travel writer Sir John Foster Fraser (1868-1936), in Australia: The Making of a Nation, gives his ideas on the future of Australia. Whilst he writes of his support for the White Australia Policy, he also puts forward his idea to populate the top half of … [Read more...] about [The problem of immigration and White Australia], by Sir John Foster Fraser [1912]