November 27 - December 3, 2016: Issue 291
SUMMER DAYS IN SYDNEY
SUMMER DAYS IN SYDNEY.
Written by M. Forrest after Viewing the Recent Carnival at Manly.
THEY loosed the sails from fairyland
(They keep a fleet of rose leaves there),
They blew them with a scented kiss
Thro' miles of cloud, thro' seas of air;
They loosed the sails of fairyland,
And ravelled free each silken strand.
THEY loosed the stars in fairyland,
And dropt them down where Manly lies,
To break upon her broken seas,
To loop o'er roadways, lantern-wise,
To flicker in the Corso trees,
To foot a measure in the breeze!
THEY unbound Love in fairyland
(He had slept there for many a year),
A reckless and romantic elf,
Who read 110 Law, and knew no fear; -
They bade him reign on every boat
That like a petal lay afloat.
THE ships came in from Sydney side:
The crowded ships, the gliding- ships.
Light to the gangway vaulted Love,
Red wine of promise on his lips;
He tossed hearts as one flings a ball
On Manly Beach in carnival.
EYES that were once just human eyes
Became a beacon and a fire;
And mouths as pale as tourmalines
Grew red as poppies of desire.
Oh, there was mischief in the hand
That set Love free in fairyland!
AND men forgot their daily pact,
And maids forgot the precept wise;
The fool-thing with his pointed cap
Was dangling baubles for their eyes;
The jester of a jewelled court
Cried, as he gambolled, 'Life is short!'
AND 'Life is short!' the dwarf -backed waves
Kept whimpering by cape and cove:
And 'Life is short!' the pines replied;
'Then fill its golden bowl with Love.'
The rockets swished a whistling song;
'Look! Life is short . . and Death . . how long!'
THE jetty like a finger lay
Across the pulses of the sea;
South Head, a sombre giant, watched
Grey-bearded in his mystery;
And here and there the water's hiss
Was as the echo of a kiss!
THE lantern lights will die ere dawn;
The boats swing slowly to the shore;
Grim Everyday will close the gates
Whose bolts are stiff with 'Nevermore;'
Yet, like a rose, that night will be
Betwixt the leaves of Memory.
SUMMER DAYS IN SYDNEY. (1914, February 4). Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), p. 47. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158396550
