# Alone (Essex Evans)

The purple hills rise far behind,  Before me spreads the plain. The tall grass bends beneath the wind  Like surges on the main. Thin mists have girt each low hill's crest,  The bright sun burns in cloudless blue, A mirage gathers in the west,  And trembles into view. It gathers in the swimming haze —  A silver lake of dazzling sheen; Its wares are bright with dancing light  And tender tints of blue and green.
A phantom sea, bright, limpid, wide,  Sailed o'er by phantom ships; Ah! Well I know that rippling tide  Could never cool my lips. My tongue is swollen in my mouth,  My burning lips are cracked and dry, I hear the Spirit of the Drouth  Whisper "Thou soon shalt die." The living shadow of a man,  The living shadow of a horse, Thro' heat and glare, in grim despair,  We stagger on our unknown course.
Thro' shimm'ring grasses on I ride  Across the yellow plain. My comrades one by one have died,  And I alone remain. They sickened one by one and died,  The stout of heart, the strong of hand, Some lie upon the dark hillside,  And some upon the sand. Where never white man rode before,  Thro' scrub, o'er plain, up mountain cleft, We forced our way, and now to-day  This horse and I alone are left.
Comrades, whose worth was sternly tried  Thro' hunger, thirst, and pain, I ne'er shall see you at my side  Nor clasp your hands again. My own weak hand scarce feels the reins.  The hot wind burns my withered cheek, So calm, so awful are the plains,  The silence seems to speak. It almost seems to speak and say,  "Those wronged by thee demand redress The hour draws nigh when thou shalt die  Alone within the wilderness."
Down! With a long and lurching stride,  The good horse fails to earth, With glazing eyes and nostril wide  Small need to loose the girth; The awful craving in his eyes  Is almost more than I can bear; "Water" is what he mutely cries,  But not a drop is near. He feebly sniffs my sunburnt hand,  He feebly answers my caress; Then gives one moan — I stand alone —  Alone within the wilderness!
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