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The Silent Singer

MRS. D. M. JORDAN, APRIL 29, 1895

ALL sudden she hath ceased to sing,
Hushed in eternal slumbering,
And we make moan that she is dead. —
Nay; peace! be comforted.

Between her singing and her tears
She pauses, listening — and she hears
The Song we can not hear. — And thus
She mutely pities us.

Could she speak out, we doubt not she
Would turn to us full tenderly,

A Capstan Chantey

What did the captain say to the cook
When the ship went down the river?
“I've left my girl in Melbourne town,
Her hair was black and her eyes were brown;
And I'll love my girl for ever.”

Wey-ho! We'll love the girls forever!
What did the cook to the captain say
When the ship went down the river?
“I've left my gal in Melbourne too,
Her hair was gold and her eyes were blue;
And I'll love my gal for ever.”

Wey-ho! We'll love the gals for ever!
What did the crew at the capstan sing
As the old tank nosed the river?

Doubt

What can I give my dear
Who has given his heart to me,
That I may keep his love
Safe under lock and key?

Oh, I can give him a singing voice,
And a body white and fine;
But what if he asked for an old, old dream
That once in the past was mine?

What if he came to seek for love,
Where never love might win?
What if he knocked at my empty heart
And said, " Sweet, let me in! "

Song at Santa Cruz

Were there lovers in the lanes of Atlantis:
Meeting lips and twining fingers
In the mild Atlantid Springtime?
How should I know
If there were lovers in the lanes of Atlantis,
When the dark sea drowned her mountains
Many years ago?

Were there poets in the paths of Atlantis:
Eager poets, seeking beauty
To adorn the women they worshipped?
How can I say
If there were poets in the paths of Atlantis?
For the waters that drowned her mountains
Washed their beauty away.

Were there women in the ways of Atlantis:

“Were I as Base as Is the Lowly Plain”

Were I as base as is the lowly plain,
And you, my Love, as high as heaven above,
Yet should the thoughts of me, your humble swain,
Ascend to heaven in honour of my love.
Were I as high as heaven above the plain,
And you, my Love, as humble and as low
As are the deepest bottoms of the main,
Wheresoe'r you were, with you my love should go.

Were you the earth, dear Love, and I the skies,
My love should shine on you like to the Sun,
And look upon you with ten thousand eyes,
Till heaven wax'd blind, and till the world were done.

Warrior's Song

Weep not for me, Loved Woman,
Should I die;
But for yourself be weeping!

Weep not for warriors who go
Gladly to battle.
Theirs to revenge
Fallen and slain of our people;
Theirs to lay low
All our foes like them,
Death to make, singing.

Weep not for warriors,
But weep for women!
Oh, weep for all women!

Theirs to be pitied
Most of all creatures,
Whose men return not!
How shall their hearts be stayed
When we are fallen?

Weep not for me, Loved Woman,
For yourself alone be weeping!

A New Patriotism

We need a new patriotism,
A patriotism of unselfishness,
Of impartial good will;
A patriotism that loves other nations
As we love our own.

We need a far-seeing patriotism
That will look beyond the deeds of today
To the consequences of tomorrow;
A patriotism that can envision universal Commonweal.

We need an all-inclusive patriotism
Of practical unity,
Of co-operation,
Of active brotherhood,
As wide as the world
And as deep as the Kingdom of God.

We need a new patriotism,
A patriotism of unselfishness,

Insincere Wish Addressed to a Beggar, An

We are not near enough to love,
I can but pity all your woe;
For wealth has lifted me above,
And falsehood set you down below.

If you were true, we still might be
Brothers in something more than name;
And were I poor, your love to me
Would make our differing bonds the same.

But golden gates between us stretch,
Truth opens her forbidding eyes;
You can't forget that I am rich,
Nor I that you are telling lies.

Love never comes but at love's call,
And pity asks for him in vain;
Because I cannot give you all,