Poems List
Explore poems from our collection
The Distant Drum
The Distant Drum
Republicans! the time is coming!
Listen to the distant drumming!
Hearken to the whispers humming
In the troubled atmosph…
The Day Before I Die
The Day Before I Die
There's such a lot of work to do, for such a troubled head!
I’m scribbling this against a book, with foolscap round, in bed.
…
The Cross-Roads
The Cross-Roads
Once more I write a line to you,
While darker shadows fall;
Dear friends of mine who have been true,
And steadfast throug…
The Cockney Soul
The Cockney Soul
From Woolwich and Brentford and Stamford Hill, from Richmond into the Strand,
Oh, the Cockney soul is a silent soul – as it is in every …
The Cattle-Dog's Death
The Cattle-Dog's Death
The Plains lay bare on the homeward route,
And the march was heavy on man and brute;
For the Spirit of Drought was on all …
The City Bushman
The City Bushman
It was pleasant up the country, City Bushman, where you went,
For you sought the greener patches and you travelled like a gent;
…
The Captain of the Push
The Captain of the Push
As the night was falling slowly down on city, town and bush,
From a slum in Jones's Alley sloped the Captain of the Push;
…
The Cab Lamps
The Cab Lamps
The crescent moon and clock tower are fair above the wall
Across the smothered lanes of ’Loo, the stifled vice and all,
And in the …
The Bush Fire
The Bush Fire
Ah, better the thud of the deadly gun, and the crash of the bursting shell,
Than the terrible silence where drought is fought out there in …
The Bursting of the Boom
The Bursting of the Boom
The shipping-office clerks are ‘short,’ the manager is gruff—
‘They cannot make reductions,’ and ‘the fares are low enough.’
The Boss's Boots
The Boss's Boots
The Shearers squint along the pens, they squint along the ‘shoots;’
The shearers squint along the board to catch the Boss’s boots;
The Briny Grave
The Briny Grave
You wonder why so many would be buried in the sea,
In this world of froth and bubble,
But I don’t wonder, for it seems to me
The Black Tracker (Or: Why He Lost The Track)
The Black Tracker (Or: Why He Lost The Track)
There was a tracker in the force
Of wondrous sight (the story ran):—
He never failed to track a hor…
The Bonny Port of Sydney
The Bonny Port of Sydney
The lovely Port of Sydney
Lies laughing to the sky,
The bonny Port of Sydney,
Where the ships of nations lie.
The Battling Days
The Battling Days
So, sit you down in a straight-backed chair, with your pipe and your wife content,
And cross your knees with your wisest air, and preac…
The Bill of the Ages
The Bill of the Ages
He shall live to the end of this mad old world, he has lived since the world began,
He never has done any good for himself, but was …
The Bard of Furthest Out
The Bard of Furthest Out
He longed to be a Back-Blocks Bard,
And fame he wished to win—
He wrote at night and studied hard
(He read The B…
The Ballad of the Elder Son
The Ballad of the Elder Son
A son of elder sons I am,
Whose boyhood days were cramped and scant,
Through ages of domestic sham
And family…
The Babies of Walloon
The Babies of Walloon
He was lengthsman on the railway, and his station scarce deserved
That “pre-eminence in sorrow” of the Majesty he served,
B…
The Ballad of the Black-Sheep
The Ballad of the Black-Sheep
A black-sheep, from England, who worked on the run –
Riding where the stockmen ride –
He sat by the hut when the da…
The Australian Marseillaise
The Australian Marseillaise
Sing the strong, proud song of Labour,
Toss the ringing music high;
Liberty’s a nearer neighbour
Than she was…
The Alleys
The Alleys
I was welcome in a palace when the ball was at my feet,
I was petted in a garden and my triumph was complete.
But for me above the all…
That There Dog O' Mine
That There Dog O' Mine
Macquarie the shearer had met with an accident. To tell the truth, he had been in a
drunken row at a wayside shanty, from which he…
That Great Waiting Silence
That Great Waiting Silence
Where shall we go for prophecy? Where shall we go for proof?
The holiday street is crowded, pavement, window and roof;
…