A Reverie (Lawson)
Stern duty calls and I, alas,
Must her behest obey.
Must now with strength my will compass,
Nor wavering thought betray.
It is, it must be fate's decree,
That while I sojourn here,
To be my lot to turn and flee
From all my heart holds dear.
To pass with cold averted eyes,
The hand I fain would clasp,
And shun the thing my soul would prize
At last within my grasp.
Why did I choose this life of pain?
Why do I live it still?
Why drink the dregs, and then again
My cup of sorrow fill?
I do not know, I cannot tell.
Nor why along the road
When from my back the burden fell
I took again the load.
I think I love the life of pain
That God has given to me.
For I would live it o'er again
If such a thing could be.
The sorrows that have come to me
Have taught me how to find
The souls in need of sympathy,
The wrecked among mankind.
My loss has been a blessed gain
For I have learnt to know,
That oft a simple woman's pain
May heal a nation's woe.
This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired. According to Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright, the following works are public domain:
- published non-government works whose author died before January 1, 1955,
- anonymous or pseudonymous works and photographs published before January 1, 1955, and
- government works published more than 50 years ago (before January 1, 1974).
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Because the Australian copyright term in 1996 was 50 years, the critical date for copyright in the United States under the URAA is January 1, 1946.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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