# An Anthology of Australian Verse/Australia to England

Subtitle: June 22nd, 1897
What of the years of Englishmen?  What have they brought of growth and grace Since mud-built London by its fen  Became the Briton's breeding-place? What of the Village, where our blood  Was brewed by sires, half man, half brute, In vessels of wild womanhood,  From blood of Saxon, Celt and Jute?
What are its gifts, this Harvest Home  Of English tilth and English cost, Where fell the hamlet won by Rome  And rose the city that she lost? O! terrible and grand and strange  Beyond all phantasy that gleams When Hope, asleep, sees radiant Change  Come to her through the halls of dreams!
A heaving sea of life, that beats  Like England's heart of pride to-day, And up from roaring miles of streets  Flings on the roofs its human spray; And fluttering miles of flags aflow,  And cannon's voice, and boom of bell, And seas of fire to-night, as though  A hundred cities flamed and fell;
While, under many a fair festoon  And flowering crescent, set ablaze With all the dyes that English June  Can lend to deck a day of days, And past where mart and palace rise,  And shrine and temple lift their spears, Below five million misted eyes  Goes a grey Queen of Sixty Years —
Go lords, and servants of the lords  Of earth, with homage on their lips, And kinsmen carrying English swords,  And offering England battle-ships; And tribute-payers, on whose hands  Their English fetters scarce appear; And gathered round from utmost lands  Ambassadors of Love and Fear!
Dim signs of greeting waved afar,  Far trumpets blown and flags unfurled, And England's name an Avatar  Of light and sound throughout the world — Hailed Empress among nations, Queen  Enthroned in solemn majesty, On splendid proofs of what has been,  And presages of what will be!
For this your sons, foreseeing not  Or heeding not, the aftermath, Because their strenuous hearts were hot  Went first on many a cruel path, And, trusting first and last to blows,  Fed death with such as would gainsay Their instant passing, or oppose  With talk of Right strength's right of way!
For this their names are on the stone  Of mountain spires, and carven trees That stand in flickering wastes unknown  Wait with their dying messages; When fire blasts dance with desert drifts  The English bones show white below, And, not so white, when summer lifts  The counterpane of Yukon's snow.
Condemned by blood to reach for grapes  That hang in sight, however high, Beyond the smoke of Asian capes,  The nameless, dauntless, dead ones lie; And where Sierran morning shines  On summits rolling out like waves, By many a brow of royal pines  The noisiest find quiet graves.
By lust of flesh and lust of gold,  And depth of loins and hairy breadth Of breast, and hands to take and hold,  And boastful scorn of pain and death, And something more of manliness  Than tamer men, and growing shame Of shameful things, and something less  Of final faith in sword and flame —
By many a battle fought for wrong,  And many a battle fought for right, So have you grown august and strong,  Magnificent in all men's sight — A voice for which the kings have ears,  A face the craftiest statesmen scan; A mind to mould the after years,  And mint the destinies of man!
Red sins were yours: the avid greed  Of pirate fathers, smocked as Grace, Sent Judas missioners to read  Christ's Word to many a feebler race — False priests of Truth who made their tryst  At Mammon's shrine, and reft or slew
Some hands you taught to pray to Christ  Have prayed His curse to rest on you!
Your way has been to pluck the blade  Too readily, and train the guns. We here, apart and unafraid  Of envious foes, are but your sons: We stretched a heedless hand to smutch  Our spotless flag with Murder's blight — For one less sacrilegious touch  God's vengeance blasted Uzza white!
You vaunted most of forts and fleets,  And courage proved in battle-feasts, The courage of the beast that eats  His torn and quivering fellow-beasts; Your pride of deadliest armament —  What is it but the self-same dint Of joy with which the Caveman bent  To shape a bloodier axe of flint?
But praise to you, and more than praise  And thankfulness, for some things done; And blessedness, and length of days  As long as earth shall last, or sun! You first among the peoples spoke  Sharp words and angry questionings Which burst the bonds and shed the yoke  That made your men the slaves of Kings!
You set and showed the whole world's school  The lesson it will surely read, That each one ruled has right to rule —  The alphabet of Freedom's creed Which slowly wins it proselytes  And makes uneasier many a throne; You taught them all to prate of Rights  In language growing like your own!
And now your holiest and best  And wisest dream of such a tie As, holding hearts from East to West,  Shall strengthen while the years go by: And of a time when every man  For every fellow-man will do His kindliest, working by the plan  God set him. May the dream come true!
And greater dreams! O Englishmen,  Be sure the safest time of all For even the mightiest State is when  Not even the least desires its fall! Make England stand supreme for aye,  Because supreme for peace and good, Warned well by wrecks of yesterday  That strongest feet may slip in blood!
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.
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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