Poems List

Explore poems from our collection

Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Cockney Soul

The Cockney Soul

From Woolwich and Brentford and Stamford Hill, from Richmond into the Strand,
Oh, the Cockney soul is a silent soul – as it is in every …

209
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Cross-Roads

The Cross-Roads

Once more I write a line to you,
While darker shadows fall;
Dear friends of mine who have been true,
And steadfast throug…

263
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The City Bushman

The City Bushman

It was pleasant up the country, City Bushman, where you went,
For you sought the greener patches and you travelled like a gent;

252
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Cattle-Dog's Death

The Cattle-Dog's Death

The Plains lay bare on the homeward route,
And the march was heavy on man and brute;
For the Spirit of Drought was on all …

257
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Cab Lamps

The Cab Lamps

The crescent moon and clock tower are fair above the wall
Across the smothered lanes of ’Loo, the stifled vice and all,
And in the …

281
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Captain of the Push

The Captain of the Push

As the night was falling slowly down on city, town and bush,
From a slum in Jones's Alley sloped the Captain of the Push;

267
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Bush Fire

The Bush Fire

Ah, better the thud of the deadly gun, and the crash of the bursting shell,
Than the terrible silence where drought is fought out there in …

256
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Bursting of the Boom

The Bursting of the Boom

The shipping-office clerks are ‘short,’ the manager is gruff—
‘They cannot make reductions,’ and ‘the fares are low enough.’

263
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Briny Grave

The Briny Grave

You wonder why so many would be buried in the sea,
In this world of froth and bubble,
But I don’t wonder, for it seems to me

253
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Boss's Boots

The Boss's Boots

The Shearers squint along the pens, they squint along the ‘shoots;’
The shearers squint along the board to catch the Boss’s boots;

253
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Black Tracker (Or: Why He Lost The Track)

The Black Tracker (Or: Why He Lost The Track)

There was a tracker in the force
Of wondrous sight (the story ran):—
He never failed to track a hor…

182
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Bonny Port of Sydney

The Bonny Port of Sydney

The lovely Port of Sydney
Lies laughing to the sky,
The bonny Port of Sydney,
Where the ships of nations lie.

245
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Bill of the Ages

The Bill of the Ages

He shall live to the end of this mad old world, he has lived since the world began,
He never has done any good for himself, but was …

248
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Battling Days

The Battling Days

So, sit you down in a straight-backed chair, with your pipe and your wife content,
And cross your knees with your wisest air, and preac…

231
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Ballad of the Elder Son

The Ballad of the Elder Son

A son of elder sons I am,
Whose boyhood days were cramped and scant,
Through ages of domestic sham
And family…

235
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Bard of Furthest Out

The Bard of Furthest Out

He longed to be a Back-Blocks Bard,
And fame he wished to win—
He wrote at night and studied hard
(He read The B…

248
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Ballad of the Black-Sheep

The Ballad of the Black-Sheep

A black-sheep, from England, who worked on the run –
Riding where the stockmen ride –
He sat by the hut when the da…

265
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Babies of Walloon

The Babies of Walloon

He was lengthsman on the railway, and his station scarce deserved
That “pre-eminence in sorrow” of the Majesty he served,
B…

245
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Australian Marseillaise

The Australian Marseillaise

Sing the strong, proud song of Labour,
Toss the ringing music high;
Liberty’s a nearer neighbour
Than she was…

257
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

The Alleys

The Alleys

I was welcome in a palace when the ball was at my feet,
I was petted in a garden and my triumph was complete.
But for me above the all…

272
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

That There Dog O' Mine

That There Dog O' Mine

Macquarie the shearer had met with an accident. To tell the truth, he had been in a
drunken row at a wayside shanty, from which he…

214
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

That Great Waiting Silence

That Great Waiting Silence

Where shall we go for prophecy? Where shall we go for proof?
The holiday street is crowded, pavement, window and roof;

184
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

Talbragar

Talbragar


Jack Denver died on Talbragar when Christmas Eve began,
And there was sorrow round the place, for Denver was a man;
Jack Denver…

391
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

Take It Fightin’

Take It Fightin’

When you’ve got no chance at all,
Take it fightin’.
When you’re driven to the wall,
Take it fightin’.

161