An Anthology of Australian Verse/Australasia
For works with similar titles, see Australasia.
AUSTRALASIA
Celestial poesy! whose genial sway
Earth’s furthest habitable shores obey;
Whose inspirations shed their sacred light,
Far as the regions of the Arctic night,
And to the Laplander his Boreal gleam
Endear not less than Phœbus’ brighter beam,—
Descend thou also on my native land,
And on some mountain-summit take thy stand;
Thence issuing soon a purer font be scen
Than charmed Casialia or famed Hippocrene;
And there a richer, nobler fane arise,
Than on Parnassus met the adoring eyes.
And tho’, bright goddess, on the far blue hills,
That pour their thousand swift pellucid rills
Where Warragamba’s rage has rent in twain
Opposing mountains, thundering to the plain,
No child af song has yet invoked thy aid
’Neath their primeval solitary shade,—
Still, gracious Pow’r, some kindling soul inspire,
To wake to life my country’s unknown lyre,
That from creation’s date has slumbering lain,
Or only breathed same savage uncouth strain;
And grant that yet an Austral Milton’s song
Pactolus-like flow deep and rich along,—
An Austral Shakespeare rise, whose living page
To nature true may charm in ev’ry age;—
And that an Austral Pindar daring soar,
Where not the Theban eagle reach’d before.
Earth’s furthest habitable shores obey;
Whose inspirations shed their sacred light,
Far as the regions of the Arctic night,
And to the Laplander his Boreal gleam
Endear not less than Phœbus’ brighter beam,—
Descend thou also on my native land,
And on some mountain-summit take thy stand;
Thence issuing soon a purer font be scen
Than charmed Casialia or famed Hippocrene;
And there a richer, nobler fane arise,
Than on Parnassus met the adoring eyes.
And tho’, bright goddess, on the far blue hills,
That pour their thousand swift pellucid rills
Where Warragamba’s rage has rent in twain
Opposing mountains, thundering to the plain,
No child af song has yet invoked thy aid
’Neath their primeval solitary shade,—
Still, gracious Pow’r, some kindling soul inspire,
To wake to life my country’s unknown lyre,
That from creation’s date has slumbering lain,
Or only breathed same savage uncouth strain;
And grant that yet an Austral Milton’s song
Pactolus-like flow deep and rich along,—
An Austral Shakespeare rise, whose living page
To nature true may charm in ev’ry age;—
And that an Austral Pindar daring soar,
Where not the Theban eagle reach’d before.