# Orara

The Orara River is a tributary of the Clarence River in New South Wales.
The strong sob of the chafing stream  That seaward fights its way Down crags of glitter, dells of gleam,  Is in the hills to-day.
But far and faint, a grey-winged form  Hangs where the wild lights wane — The phantom of a bygone storm,  A ghost of wind and rain.
The soft white feet of afternoon  Are on the shining meads, The breeze is as a pleasant tune  Amongst the happy reeds.
The fierce, disastrous, flying fire,  That made the great caves ring, And scarred the slope, and broke the spire,  Is a forgotten thing.
The air is full of mellow sounds,  The wet hill-heads are bright, And down the fall of fragrant grounds,  The deep ways flame with light.
A rose-red space of stream I see,  Past banks of tender fern; A radiant brook, unknown to me  Beyond its upper turn.
The singing, silver life I hear,  Whose home is in the green, Far-folded woods of fountains clear,  Where I have never been.
Ah, brook above the upper bend,  I often long to stand Where you in soft, cool shades descend  From the untrodden land!
Ah, folded woods, that hide the grace  Of moss and torrents strong, I often wish to know the face  Of that which sings your song!
But I may linger, long, and look  Till night is over all: My eyes will never see the brook,  Or sweet, strange waterfall.
The world is round me with its heat,  And toil, and cares that tire; I cannot with my feeble feet  Climb after my desire.
But, on the lap of lands unseen,  Within a secret zone, There shine diviner gold and green  Than man has ever known.
And where the silver waters sing  Down hushed and holy dells, The flower of a celestial Spring
 A tenfold splendour, dwells.
Yea, in my dream of fall and brook  By far sweet forests furled, I see that light for which I look  In vain through all the world —
The glory of a larger sky  On slopes of hills sublime, That speak with God and morning, high  Above the ways of Time!
Ah! haply in this sphere of change  Where shadows spoil the beam, It would not do to climb that range  And test my radiant Dream.
The slightest glimpse of yonder place,  Untrodden and alone, Might wholly kill that nameless grace,  The charm of the unknown.
And therefore, though I look and long,  Perhaps the lot is bright Which keeps the river of the song  A beauty out of sight.
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