# The Poems of Henry Kendall/Charles Harpur

The subject of this poem is the Australian poet Charles Harpur who died in 1868
Where Harpur lies, the rainy streams,  And wet hill-heads, and hollows weeping, Are swift with wind, and white with gleams,  And hoarse with sounds of storms unsleeping.
Fit grave it is for one whose song  Was tuned by tones he caught from torrents, And filled with mountain breaths, and strong,  Wild notes of falling forest currents.
So let him sleep, the rugged hymns  And broken lights of woods above him! And let me sing how sorrow dims  The eyes of those that used to love him.
As April in the wilted wold  Turns faded eyes on splendours waning, What time the latter leaves are old,  And ruin strikes the strays remaining;
So we that knew this singer dead,  Whose hands attuned the harp Australian, May set the face and bow the head,  And mourn his fate and fortunes alien.
The burden of a perished faith  Went sighing through his speech of sweetness, With human hints of time and death,  And subtle notes of incompleteness.
But when the fiery power of youth  Had passed away and left him nameless, Serene as light, and strong as truth,  He lived his life, untired and tameless.
And, far and free, this man of men,  With wintry hair and wasted feature, Had fellowship with gorge and glen,  And learned the loves and runes of Nature.
Strange words of wind, and rhymes of rain,  And whispers from the inland fountains Are mingled, in his various strain,  With leafy breaths of piny mountains.
But as the undercurrents sigh  Beneath the surface of a river, The music of humanity  Dwells in his forest-psalms for ever.
No soul was he to sit on heights  And live with rocks apart and scornful: Delights of men were his delights,  And common troubles made him mournful.
The flying forms of unknown powers  With lofty wonder caught and filled him; But there were days of gracious hours  When sights and sounds familiar thrilled him.
The pathos worn by wayside things,  The passion found in simple faces, Struck deeper than the life of springs  Or strength of storms and sea-swept places.
But now he sleeps, the tired bard,  The deepest sleep; and, lo! I proffer These tender leaves of my regard,  With hands that falter as they offer.
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).
This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days), and it was first published before 1989 without complying with U.S. copyright formalities (renewal and/or copyright notice) and it was in the public domain in Australia on the URAA date (January 1, 1996). This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.
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.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse