THE tenderness and sanctity of Home
Pervade the haunts of men from pole to pole;
While cottage, castle, and imperial dome
Alike demand the tribute of the soul.
Australian homes a special charm possess,
When the brave builder is the pioneer,
Whom energy and hope combine to bless,
While Love and wild Romance are smiling near.
The hut, at first, just large enough for two,
But clean and cheerful in its rustic grace,
Then, room by room, enlarged, as children grow,
Till loftier walls the cabin group replace.
There blaze the golden crops in summer sheen,
And flocks prolific seek the grassy plain;
While through the tangled wilderness of green
The labouring oxen draw the toppling wain.
There, baby feet will harden on the sward,
And chubby limbs bestride the shaggy steed;
There “mother’s lassies” deck the frugal board,
Or shyly tend some weary wanderer’s need.
There, scant of books, the earnest mother strives,
With daily text and well-remembered rhyme,
To graft on infant hearts and budding lives
The holy precepts of a Faith sublime.
And how the garden thrives! The treasured seeds
From other lands spring kindly where they fall:
Geranium and Campanula are weeds,
And Morning Glories cluster on the wall.
Such are, perchance, the early homes of those
By Fortune mark’d to reach a higher goal;
In memory long their image shall repose,
The cradle and the mooring of the soul.
(Emily Mary Barton)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, Soul Poems, Home Poems, Belief & Faith Poems, Summer Poems, Books Poems, Courage Poems, Memory Poems, Garden Poems, Romantic Love Poems, Weeds PoemsBased on Keywords: bestride, geranium, mooring, well-remembered, lassies, graft, chubby, campanula