[Editor: This poem, by “Graftonite”, was published in The Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW), 28 January 1953.]
To a China Shepherdess
A poem inspired by a China shepherdess seen in a Clarence River home.
Little shepherdess, how sweet you look
Upon the old book shelf, with your gold crook
And spangled skirt of rose and daffodil!
Among the yellow buttercups that fill
With dew upon the green, a little Boy Blue
Blows up his horn to call your sheep to you,
My wayside Queen. On tranquil meadows far
Where the primrose greets the evening star
In glowing beauty, know not, O rustic maid
Of soft and gently mien, your sheep have strayed?
How sweet and tender is the look
You cast on me, as if you mistook
Me for a sheep whom you must chide,
My little Bo-Peep and loving guide!
With what a pretty gesture you would hook
My leg to keep me in this tranquil nook,
With sweet reproaches for my naughty ways!
The flickering blue light softly plays
Upon your twinkling smock of meadow-pink
And you do twitch your gilded shoes, I think.
Little Bo-Peep if only I could obey
And at your sweet side, forever stay!
A silly old flock of sheep, I know I am,
But come to life and I’ll be your lamb.
A marigold girl you are a thing of clay
That nothing moves in any way.
Can golden day and silver night compress
This glistening china shepherdess
Which is less than any breathing thing?
Yet round such beauty do the angels sing.
Sweet maid, the artist stole your charm,
From the green pastures of an ancient psalm,
Where a Shepherd Good His flock does guide,
And so my poem has come to rest beside
The still waters and refreshing wells
Of pastoral song, sweet as vesper bells,
And soft as the horn of little Boy Blue
Who calls your sheep to you, my meadow queen.
By “Graftonite.”
Source:
The Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW), 28 January 1953, p. 4
Editor’s notes:
It appears that this poem was written about a shepherdess made of China (ceramic or porcelain material); possibly in the form of the character Bo Peep (of nursery rhyme fame).
Every 1st and 2nd line rhyme, except for the last two lines (although it may have been intended that the rhyme of “Blue” and “you” was sufficient, even though “you” was not at the end of the last line).
China = (also known as “fine China”) translucent ceramic material; porcelain, or similar; figurines made out of ceramic or porcelain material
gild = to cover something with a thin layer of gold, gold leaf, or a gold-coloured substance, or to make something look that way (an archaic meaning is to make something bloody or red)
His = in a religious context, and capitalized, a reference to Jesus Christ (it can also be a reference to God in Heaven)
mien = the air, bearing, demeanor, or manner of a person, especially as showing an attitude or personality
nook = a small place or space which is secluded, hidden, or out of the way, especially a place offering security or shelter (commonly used in the phrase “nook and cranny”, or “nooks and crannies”, regarding small crevices and niches); a small section, part, recess, opening, or corner of a room or area (e.g. a breakfast nook, a garden nook, a reading nook, a shady nook)
psalm = a religious or sacred hymn, song, or poem for use in the worship of God (especially a psalm in the Book of Psalms, in the Bible)
rustic = of or relating to the countryside or rural areas; plain, rough, or simple in appearance or fashion; something typical of rural places or of the countryside; lacking refined etiquette or social graces; characteristic of or resembling rural people
Shepherd Good = in a religious context, and capitalized, a reference to Jesus Christ
vesper = (archaic) evening, eventide (can also refer to vespers: prayers which are said or sung in the evening; evening worship; also, Vesper can be a reference to the planet Venus appearing in the sky as “the evening star”)
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