Page:A New Zealand verse (1906).pdf/265
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My Father.
229
The brave white witnesses
To the truth within
Took the dart of folly,
Took the jeer of sin;
Crying, “Follow, follow,
Back to Eden-gate!”
They trod the Polar desert,
Met a desert fate.
To the truth within
Took the dart of folly,
Took the jeer of sin;
Crying, “Follow, follow,
Back to Eden-gate!”
They trod the Polar desert,
Met a desert fate.
Be laurel to the victor,
And roses to the fair,
And asphodel Elysian
Let the hero wear;
But lay the maiden lilies
Upon their narrow biers—
The lone grey company
Before the pioneers.
And roses to the fair,
And asphodel Elysian
Let the hero wear;
But lay the maiden lilies
Upon their narrow biers—
The lone grey company
Before the pioneers.
CLXI.
My Father.
He is old now,
And Time and Care have long ago
Covered his locks with winter’s snow,
And lined his brow.
And Time and Care have long ago
Covered his locks with winter’s snow,
And lined his brow.
His step is slow,
Oft in his walk he stands to rest,
With folded arms upon his breast,
And head bent low.
Oft in his walk he stands to rest,
With folded arms upon his breast,
And head bent low.