Kenneth Slessor Poems (73 Poems)
The Man of Sentiment (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
Part One[A walled garden of York. It is an August Sunday, and the baying of deep church-bells is blown faintly in a warm wind. Laurence Sterne, prebendary, aged forty-six, and Catherine de Fromantel, a girl who sings at Ranelagh, are … Continue reading
Music (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
IMUSIC, on the air’s edge, rides alone,Plumed like empastured Caesars of the skyWith a god’s helmet; now, in the gold dyeOf sunlight, the iron cloak, the Tuscan stone,Melt to enchanted flesh-a voice is blownDown from the windy pit, like a … Continue reading
Five Visions Of Captain Cook (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
ICOOK was a captain of the AdmiraltyWhen sea-captains had the evil eye,Or should have, what with beating krakens offAnd casting nativities of ships;Cook was a captain of the powder-daysWhen captains, you might have said, if you had beenFixed by their … Continue reading
The Old Play (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
IIN an old play-house, in an old play,In an old piece that has been done to death,We dance, kind ladies, noble friends.Observe our modishness, I pray,What dignity the music lends.Our sighs, no doubt, are only a doll’s breath,But gravely done-indeed, … Continue reading
Captain Dobbin (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
CAPTAIN Dobbin, having retired from the South SeasIn the dumb tides of , with a handful of shells,A few poisoned arrows, a cask of pearls,And five thousand pounds in the colonial funds,Now sails the street in a brick villa, “Laburnum … Continue reading
The Atlas (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
I. The King of CuckoozTHE King of Cuckooz ContreyHangs peaked above ArgierWith Janzaries and MarabuttsTo bid a sailor fear-With lantern-eyed astrologersWho walk upon the wallsAnd ram with stars their basilisksInstead of cannon-balls.And in that floating castle(I tell you it is … Continue reading
Heine In Paris (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
LATE: a cold smear of sunlight bathes the room;The gilt lime of winter, a sun grown melancholy old,Streams in the glass. Outside, ten thousand chimneys fume,Looping the weather-birds with rings of gold;The spires of Paris, pricked in an iron spume,Uprise … Continue reading
Earth-Visitors (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
(To N.L.)THERE were strange riders once, came gusting downCloaked in dark furs, with faces grave and sweet,And white as air. None knew them, they were strangers-Princes gone feasting, barons with gipsy eyesAnd names that rang like viols-perchance, who knows,Kings of … Continue reading
Realities (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
(To the etchings of Norman Lindsay)Now the statues lean over each to each, and sing,Gravely in warm plaster turning; the hedges are dark.The trees come suddenly to flower with moonlight,The water-gardens to glassy fire, and the night, the night,Breaks in … Continue reading
Winter Dawn (Kenneth Slessor Poems)
AT five I wake, rise, rub on the smoking paneA port to see-water breathing in the air,Boughs broken. The sun comes up in a golden stain,Floats like a glassy sea-fruit. There is mist everywhere,White and humid, and the Harbour is … Continue reading
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