To the Memory of a Young Girl, Who Died Friendless in the Bush [poem by Philip Durham Lorimer]

[Editor: This poem by Philip Durham Lorimer was published in Songs and Verses by Philip Durham Lorimer: An Australian Bush Poet, 1901. In the contents, this poem is listed as “Death of a Friendless Girl in the Bush”.]

To the Memory of a Young Girl, Who Died Friendless in the Bush

Oh, thou whom Beauty called its own,
And nursed with fondest care ;
Yet tasted from thine infant years
The darkness of despair.

The golden morn of life a wreath
Had placed upon thy brow,
While buds and blossoms opened wide
And lingered on their bough.

Has death removed thee in thy noon,
And left thee nameless here,
That all thy last of beauty may
Depart without a tear.

Without some kindred spirit’s love
To swell emotion’s sigh,
And, ere those lips had closed in sleep,
To lisp the last “Good-bye” ?

Has Death enwrapt thee in his arms,
And left thee to beguile,
By beauty’s last bewildering glance,
Life’s soft and heavenly smile ? —

That breathless hour, when darkness chills,
And marks with eager haste
The last faint tints of loveliness,
The first of ruined waste ?

Or, after darkness of the night,
Through storm and bitter sighs,
Has daylight brought thee some relief,
And lingered in those eyes ?

My fancy paints thy living soul,
Soft staying in its flight,
Reluctant winging on its course,
And longing for the light.

And light will come, and with it life,
And thou wilt live to see
The bliss of happiness unrolled
Throughout eternity.

Sydney, July 19, 1871.

Source:
E. A. Petherick (editor). Songs and Verses by Philip Durham Lorimer: An Australian Bush Poet, William Clowes and Sons, London, 1901, pages 89-90