| Walter Murdoch (1874–1970). The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse. 1918. |
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| 38. Nora |
| | | By Henry Laurie |
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| CALM and fair | |
| Flows the stream of Nora’s life, | |
| Moving with a lazy air | |
| Far from strife. | |
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| Goddesses | 5 |
| Must have looked from just such eyes, | |
| Full of still felicities,— | |
| No surprise, | |
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| No endeavour | |
| (For endeavour mars perfection), | 10 |
| And, one almost fancies, never | |
| Strong affection. | |
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| Far too cold | |
| Seems that face for dream of mine, | |
| Though, if set in sculptured mould, | 15 |
| How divine! | |
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| As she stands | |
| Looking from the window forth, | |
| Gazing o’er the sunny lands | |
| To the north, | 20 |
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| Light and shade | |
| Cross and quiver to and fro, | |
| By the she-oak’s tresses made, | |
| Waving slow | |
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| In the breeze; | 25 |
| But no varying light you trace, | |
| Save from flittings such as these, | |
| On her face. | |
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| Calmly moving | |
| On her daily household ways, | 30 |
| Little can you see for loving, | |
| Much for praise. | |
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| One alone | |
| Sets her quiet life aglow, | |
| And, whene’er she hears his tone, | 35 |
| Then, I know | |
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| That her form | |
| Has a richer, fuller grace, | |
| And the colour rushes warm | |
| To her face. | 40 |
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| From her eyes | |
| All the hidden life peeps out, | |
| From her lips strange melodies | |
| Float about | |
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| All astir, | 45 |
| Thoughts and hopes, unguessed before, | |
| Gleam, till Love can ask of her | |
| Nothing more. | |
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| ’Tis as though, | |
| Walking on a charmèd shore, | 50 |
| Blind to all the gleam and glow | |
| Which it bore, | |
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| On our sight | |
| Flashed the flush of roses blowing, | |
| Dewdrops sparkling in the light, | 55 |
| Rivers flowing; | |
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| For at last | |
| One had come, whose star-tipt wand | |
| Woke to gladness, as he passed | |
| Through the land. | 60 |
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| Shall we then | |
| Grudge the favoured one his due? | |
| Fate gives wands to other men, | |
| Charmèd too! | |
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| Unaware | 65 |
| While we wander to and fro, | |
| Flowers may blossom here and there | |
| As we go. | |
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| Lives are bound | |
| Each to each by secret spell, | 70 |
| And a fairy-land lies round | |
| Us as well. | |
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