Crowned monarch of the starry sky,
Forerunner of the day
All other orbs that shine on high
Must pale before thy ray.
If, as to legends old we find,
Man's destinies are thine,
Whose paths art those amongst mankind
On which thy fell rays shine?
Ambition's votaries dost thou lure,
Up, up the giddy height;
Led on by hopes that ne'er endure
The test of Truth's stern light.
If so, the historic roll of fame
Bears witness to thy sway,
Telling of deeds done in that name
By men long passed away.
Napoleon must have watched thee rise,
From many a camp-fire's side;
Earth's empires then would scarce comprise
The yearnings of his pride.
Yet the same beams that coldly kissed
His flashing spears upborne,
Loured sadly, dimly, through the mist
Of Waterloo's dread morn.
And hovering o'er the Atlantic spray,
With thy calm, changeless smile,
Thou sawest him wear his heart away
On Saint Helena's Isle.
And he, the celestial one, who bore
Thy name in heaven afar,
From hell's abyss shall rise no more,
Oh, fatal morning star!
Still, in lone majesty shine on,
Creation's radiant king;
The unceasing woe thou look'st upon
To thee no change can bring.
In some new life the grave beyond,
Then yet our home mayest be;
When freed from every earth-wrought bond,
Our souls are fit for thee.
First published in The Queenslander, 1 June 1872
Author reference sites: Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography
See also.
Forerunner of the day
All other orbs that shine on high
Must pale before thy ray.
If, as to legends old we find,
Man's destinies are thine,
Whose paths art those amongst mankind
On which thy fell rays shine?
Ambition's votaries dost thou lure,
Up, up the giddy height;
Led on by hopes that ne'er endure
The test of Truth's stern light.
If so, the historic roll of fame
Bears witness to thy sway,
Telling of deeds done in that name
By men long passed away.
Napoleon must have watched thee rise,
From many a camp-fire's side;
Earth's empires then would scarce comprise
The yearnings of his pride.
Yet the same beams that coldly kissed
His flashing spears upborne,
Loured sadly, dimly, through the mist
Of Waterloo's dread morn.
And hovering o'er the Atlantic spray,
With thy calm, changeless smile,
Thou sawest him wear his heart away
On Saint Helena's Isle.
And he, the celestial one, who bore
Thy name in heaven afar,
From hell's abyss shall rise no more,
Oh, fatal morning star!
Still, in lone majesty shine on,
Creation's radiant king;
The unceasing woe thou look'st upon
To thee no change can bring.
In some new life the grave beyond,
Then yet our home mayest be;
When freed from every earth-wrought bond,
Our souls are fit for thee.
First published in The Queenslander, 1 June 1872
Author reference sites: Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography
See also.
