POETRY OLD AND NEW.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14486, 28 September 1910, Page 9

POETRY OLD AND NEW.

A CHANT OF LABOUR. On brethren bent with labour, oh sisters worn with toil, Long have ye sown the harvest fields and others -.eaped the spoil! You groan and slave for fool and knave, but. brighter days are dawning; Above the hills the sun bursts up, and floods the sky with morning. On you the primal curse was laid, on you the first, deciee; But hark! A mighty voice awakes, and chants of days to lie. A grander scope, a wider hope, is opening out before you ; A freer sky, a sunnier heaven, will soon be bending o'er you. Oh, w.ike, wake, wake, The future beckons bright! The long dark night is sweeping past, And the morning will bo light. Oh, heavy is tho burden your shoulders long have borne; Oh, weary arc* the ways you tread, and sharp your crown of thorn ; You inarch along, forlorn of song, with sob of stifled weeping. And happier seem the quiet dead, who, alter work, are .sleeping. But still, for you the future waits, for you the sunrise glows; For you, at last, tho wilderness shall blossom like the rose. In days to be you shall be free, and neighbour with his neighbour, And friend with friend, shall celebrate emancipated labour! Oh, wake, wake, wake, The future beckons bright! The long dark night is sweeping past, And the morning will be light. Aaron- Watson". RECOLLECTIONS OF STANEHIVE. Sac weel's I mind it was oor lot, When little mair than bairn.;. To spend the school vacations in The rich and fertile M earns, A land where strappin* lasses bloom An' sturdy men aye thrive— O! lichtsome were our sport* among The scenes aronn' Stanchive. How blithely in the early morn We spceled tho Bervie Braes, Or rumbled up the Carron side Where lasses bleach their claeß ! An' whiles we in the caller wave Wad learn to swim and dive; Then hest an' street oor legs alang 'The. beach beside Staneliive. An' aft we trootit i' the stream That ca's the Cowie mill, An' gambled o'er the haughs near by Olcnury's famous still! Wild antic feats, by field an' wood, We gaily wad contrive, Till gloamiu' cast her mantle o'er The bowers aroun' Stanehive. The days o* youth are happy days, When hearts are free frae care; Their memory cheers our latter years That mirth lichts up nae mair! An' ne'er shall I, until 1 .it Life's journey's end arrive, Forget the sunny summer days 1 ■ spent aboot Staneliive. ROBIN. THE WEEDS. Yer line feels 'envy in yer 'and, Yer arms just like an' iron band, As walkin' slaw across the land Yer chop the weeds. The sun may shine, the wind may Maw, The rain pour down, or even stiaw Come wissliu' past; still from belaw Graws up the weeds. They spoil ver life, they manfce yer sin, Because 'o - swear you do begin; 'in sure the devil must lie in The mucky weeds. Surely there is some reason why They gra.v an' graw soa steadily. As if they wished to reach the sky, Them endless weeds. You plough 'em in. you plough 'cm out, You cultivate an' tear about. Until yoii ain't the slightest doubt You've killed yer weeds. Their corpses lays about the ground, Kottin' in 'crips, an' I'll be bound You sleep at night quite safe and sound, Shut o' yer weens. Next thing tlicr' conies a gentle shower, Follered by sunshine for an hour. An' then—yer ground's all green an' sour Agen—wi' weeds. A brand new lot, a smilin' thecr; Yes, you maay stare, or you maay swear, But they doan't lose their time—noa fear, Them bloomin' weeds. There ain't noa fly as conks their goose; Noa blight, nor Worms seems any use, Noa inseck sticks their vital juice, 'Coy. they are weeds. They graw all day, they graw all night, An' niver stop fer sup nor bite. But spring to an amazing height Does them owd weeds. If they '.vor' only fit to use, They'd never git noa more abuse, 'Coz iverybody then would choose To graw all weeds. T'would seem too good then to be true, For we should 'ev noa work to do, But only sit the long day through, Adinirin' an' praisin" too. What- we 'ad allers used to rue, An' greet wi' curses not a few Our friendsthe weeds. Behnmrd Gilbert, Lincoln.