Poems

Poems List

Explore poems from our collection

Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Rose

The Rose

We love the land when the world goes round,
And deep, deep down in her thorny ground,
Where nobody comes, and nobody knows,
We love the Ro…

344
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Rovers

The Rovers

Some born of homely parents
For ages settled down—
The steady generations
Of village, farm, and town:
And some of dusky fathers

209
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Rhyme of the Three Greybeards

The Rhyme of the Three Greybeards

He'd been for years in Sydney "a-acting of the goat",
His name was Joseph Swallow, "the Great Australian Pote",
In spit…

238
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Professional Wanderer

The Professional Wanderer

When you’ve knocked about the country—been away from home for years;
When the past, by distance softened, nearly fills your eyes with…

246
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Port O'Call

The Port O'Call

Our hull is seldom painted,
Our decks are seldom stoned;
Our sails are patched and cobbled
And chains by rust marooned.
Our r…

247
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Pride That Comes After

The Pride That Comes After

It knows it all, it knows it all,
The world of groans and laughter,
It sneers of pride before a fall,
But the bitter pri…

256
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Pink Carnation

The Pink Carnation

I may walk until I’m fainting, I may write until I’m blinded,
I might drink until my back teeth are afloat,
But I can’t forget my ruin…

236
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Pavement Stones :A Song of the Unemployed

The Pavement Stones :A Song of the Unemployed

WHEN first I came to town, resolved
To fight my way alone,
No prouder foot than mine e’er trod
Upon t…

252
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Paroo

The Paroo

It was a week from Christmas-time,
As near as I remember,
And half a year since, in the rear,
We'd left the Darling timber.
The tra…

327
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Patriotic League

The Patriotic League

Behold! the biased foes of Right
Are conscious of their danger,
They’re startled by the dawning light,
So very long a stranger…

303
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Other Gum

The Other Gum

Well Boory, I have read your “grin”,
And listened to your whine;
I only wish you’d sent it in
Before I printed mine.
You see, I…

210
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Old Stockman's Lament

The Old Stockman's Lament

Wrap me up in me stockwhip and blanket,
And bury me deep down below,
Where this piffle and sham won’t disgust me,
In the …

261
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Old Jimmy Woodser

The Old Jimmy Woodser

The old Jimmy Woodser comes into the bar
Unwelcomed, unnoticed, unknown,
Too old and too odd to be drunk with, by far;
So he …

263
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The New Chum Jackeroo

The New Chum Jackeroo

Let bushmen think as bushmen will,
And say whate’er they choose,
I hate to hear the stupid sneer
At New Chum Jackaroos.

263
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Muscovy Duck

The Muscovy Duck

The rooster is a brainless dude, although he sports a crest,
The hen’s an awful fool we know, though hen-eggs are the best;
She’ll flutt…

250
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Motor Car

The Motor Car

The motor car is sullen, like a thing that should not be;
The motor car is master of Smart Society.
’Twas born of sweated genius and collar…

240
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Men Who Made Australia

The Men Who Made Australia

There'll be royal times in Sydney for the Cuff and Collar Push,
There’ll be lots of dreary drivel and clap-trap
From the men w…

240
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Men Who Sleep With Danger

The Men Who Sleep With Danger

The men who camp with Danger
Are mostly quiet men:
And one may use a rifle,
And one may use a pen,
And one may …

262
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Men Who Come Behind

The Men Who Come Behind

There's a class of men (and women) who are always on their guard—
Cunning, treacherous, suspicious—feeling softly—grasping hard—
…

243
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Memories They Bring

The Memories They Bring

I would never waste the hours
Of the time that is mine own,
Writing verses about flowers
For their own sweet sakes alone; <…

257
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Man Who Raised Charlestown

The Man Who Raised Charlestown

They were hanging men in Buckland who would not cheer King George –
The parson from his pulpit and the blacksmith from his forge…

243
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Loveable Characters

The Loveable Characters

I long for the streets but the Lord knoweth best,
For there I am never a saint;
There are lovable characters out in the West,

243
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Lily of St Leonards

The Lily of St Leonards

’TIS sunrise over Watson,
Where I sailed out to sea,
On that wild run to London
That wrecked and ruined me.
The beaut…

351
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Little Native Rose

The Little Native Rose

There is a lasting little flower,
That everybody knows,
Yet none has thought to think about
The little Native Rose.

219