Poem: To a Youthful Writer by Will Carter

Read, youthful writer, read,
   If thou wouldst shape a song;
Learn of the hearts that bleed,
   The souls that suffer wrong.

Draw from the mint of minds
   That have enriched the past;
Raise the dark, dusty blinds,
   And thy brave song shall last.

Think of the lovely rose,
   With morning jewels bright;
The only gems it knows
   Are teardrops of the night.

Its tints the rainbow lends,
   Of purest radiancy;
Its scent the soil upsends,
   By Nature's alchemy.

Glean, youthful water, glean,
   The field is rich and vast.
Write what thy soul has seen,
   And thy great song will last.  

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 1935