Iv'e driven the tedious cattle home
nocturnal robbers of the grain
When twinkling stars have dimly shone
To light me to the farm again.
Ive ridden forth upon the hills
Ere night had melted into day
And met the mornings welcome smile
With dewdrops drenched on every spray.
O happy time! the withered grass
At burning noon, has made my bed
Beneath the banksias rayless shade;
My tired horse was loosed and fed.
Long days Ive cantered oer the plain
In summers heat and winters chill
To bring the wandering cattle home
And night has found me still.
Then was the time I marked each flower
Each insect curious and strange
The clouds upon the deep, deep sky
The quiet vale, the lofty range:
Till poets dreams upon me fell
Until my memory silence broke
And woke to song the severed wealth
Tho care had early set its seal;
Ive lived alone within myself:
Dreams of the past would oer me steal
Old books would lull me to repose
And music of the poets theme:
Those were the only joys I choose
A solace and a dream.
If I have borrowed from the minds
Of other bards, tis not by will;
The memory of their music comes
By gushing streams upon me still;
Unknown the time, forgot the hour
When first they stirred my spirits power.
Argyle BERTHA
