Clang, clang, goes the station bell;
Six o'clock, and the work is done.
Lily buds in the bathing pool
All aglow from the setting sun,
Slanting rays thro' the willow boughs,
Woolshed windows a blaze of gold,
While afar in the myall scrub
Sweet night flowers to the dark unfold.
"Home! home!" says the station bell,
Silhouetted against the sky;
Tired horses and weary men
Pass the gate of the stockyard by.
Thro' the trees by the winding creek
Cottage windows are all aglow;
Across the door of one firelit room
A woman's figure flits to and fro.
"Night comes," says the station bell,
Ringing out on the scented air;
Far away in the forest's heart
A dingo howls in his secret lair;
Over the trees and the clustered roofs
A white bird flies with a mournful cry,
That mingies sweet with the crooning song
A mother sings as a lullaby.
"Rest, rest," says the station bell;
It echoes even across the hill,
Where the graves of the station dead
Are green with grass --- Is their sleep so still
That they are not stirred by the music sweet
Of children's voices in mirthful play,
Or the well-known clang as the station bell
Rings "Angelus" for the workers' day?
First published in The Queenslander, 8 April 1899
Author: Ethel Mills (1878? - ??) was the sister of Mabel Forrest. Other than that little is known about the author of this poem.
Author reference sites: Austlit
Six o'clock, and the work is done.
Lily buds in the bathing pool
All aglow from the setting sun,
Slanting rays thro' the willow boughs,
Woolshed windows a blaze of gold,
While afar in the myall scrub
Sweet night flowers to the dark unfold.
"Home! home!" says the station bell,
Silhouetted against the sky;
Tired horses and weary men
Pass the gate of the stockyard by.
Thro' the trees by the winding creek
Cottage windows are all aglow;
Across the door of one firelit room
A woman's figure flits to and fro.
"Night comes," says the station bell,
Ringing out on the scented air;
Far away in the forest's heart
A dingo howls in his secret lair;
Over the trees and the clustered roofs
A white bird flies with a mournful cry,
That mingies sweet with the crooning song
A mother sings as a lullaby.
"Rest, rest," says the station bell;
It echoes even across the hill,
Where the graves of the station dead
Are green with grass --- Is their sleep so still
That they are not stirred by the music sweet
Of children's voices in mirthful play,
Or the well-known clang as the station bell
Rings "Angelus" for the workers' day?
First published in The Queenslander, 8 April 1899
Author: Ethel Mills (1878? - ??) was the sister of Mabel Forrest. Other than that little is known about the author of this poem.
Author reference sites: Austlit
