Life and death
July 6, 2023Zummer An’ Winter
July 6, 2023After the Storm
The storm is done–the lightning with its lust
To rend the unhallowed dome in ruin dire;
The purple heaps, from the rank chaos thrust
On sheets of fell and inauspicious fire;
The thunder bellowing loud on every bound;
The hissing bolt, so tossed as to complete
All permutations of Satanic sound;
The flood that opened heaven and ransomed it.
Benign now is that beatific blue.
The flame that fires the hill is now remote
From aught in evil. Clemency anew
–Crowns every leaf, and sings in every throat.
Shall, then, the rage of earth and heaven depart,
And not the rancour of the unsensing heart?
William Baylebridge
William Baylebridge (1883-1942) was an Australian poet and journalist who was associated with the Sydney Push, a group of writers and artists who challenged the conservative social norms of early 20th-century Australia. Baylebridge's poetry often dealt with themes of love and loss, and his most famous works include "The Wild Colonial Boy" and "The Dancing Bear."