May

John Shaw Neilson 1872 (Penola, South Australia) – 1942 (Melbourne, Victoria)



Shyly the silver-hatted mushrooms make
    Soft entrance through,
And undelivered lovers, half awake,
    Hear noises in the dew

Yellow in all the earth and in the skies,
    The world would seem
Faint as a widow mourning with soft eyes
    And falling into dream.

Up the long hill I see the slow plough leave
    Furrows of brown;
Dim is the day and beautiful: I grieve
    To see the sun go down.

But there are suns a many for mine eyes
    Day after day:
Delightsome in grave greenery they rise,
    Red oranges in May.

 

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

28 sec read
34

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF CGCG
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 531
Words 94
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

John Shaw Neilson

John Shaw Neilson was an Australian poet. Slightly built, for most of his life he worked as a labourer, fruit-picking, clearing scrub, navvying and working in quarries, and, after 1928, working as a messenger with the Country Roads Board in Melbourne. he died when he was 70 years old. more…

All John Shaw Neilson poems | John Shaw Neilson Books

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