ORIGINAL POETRY.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume I, Issue 5, 7 February 1890, Page 3

ORIGINAL POETRY.

! A REVERIE. ' Paint on 'he inne cha>i bers of tby Vain These Southern wilds, where oft the J strayed, Where none but his wild weird refrain Was heard hrough brake and gl.de Till str nger came, with greed uncurb’d, To claim this 1 nd of beauty, ra e, Twas then that other sounds (list ib’d The stillness of the scented air— Sounds that o’er the verdant hills And down the d rk deep go ges played, Quicken’d the t ambling drowsy ills That m nnured in the brooding shade; The Maori, st rtled, bu not dismayed, Awaken’d i rom his torpid life, Too well he knew those sounds betrayed B'oo ly war ..... deadly strife Stalking through his I nd apace His heart now fired wi b righteous pride, In that ho knen tha a his r ce Would fight, the f6e at every stride. And fiercely were he battles fought Though odds, and modern arms aside, ’Gainst pnmeval man were b ought That his defeat on every side Should swiftly o’er the land proclaim The era of a new-born State; ’was thus, with grief, not with shame, The Mao 5 bow'd his he d to file. And now the v ndal bushman’s song On wings unfledged the forests fly As axe in hand be rests among The mighty, trees that round him lie.

: ur still th re’s beauty at command Untouch’d by Time’s decree, haste then to New Zealand A d celebrate her Jubilee, Up in the giant mountains, high, M.ngst glis ening ice and snow, Whe e mighty glaciers feast the eye, Or up in the mountains, ow, Wnere a foam of foilage ream, Where, twixt the summer's heat and glow, oases, palms and rare ferns gleam From crest away to the vales . elow, And, where ibe joyous song bird trills: What richer gift could wealth b stow Than Nature s p offer‘d cup that fll s he depths of oue‘s soul to overflow ? G. A. Dowsing.