Song
July 6, 2023Questions
July 6, 2023Sea-Gifts
Give thou a gift to me
From thy treasure-house, O sea!
Said a red-lipped laughing girl
While the summer yet was young;
And the sea laughed back and flung
At her feet a priceless pearl.
Give thou a gift to me
From thy treasure-house, O sea!
Said the maiden once again
On a night of wind and rain.
Like a ghost the moon above her
Stared through winding-sheets of cloud.
On the sand in sea-weed shroud,
Lay the pale corpse of her lover.
Which is better, gain or loss?
Which is nobler, crown or cross?
We shall know these things, maybe,
When the dead rise from the sea.
Victor James Daley
Victor James Daley (1858-1905) was an Australian poet and writer who is often associated with the Australian bush poetry tradition. His work was characterized by a love of the Australian landscape and a deep sense of patriotism. Daley's poetry often celebrated the Australian way of life, and he was one of the first writers to use the Australian vernacular in his work. Despite his relatively short life, Daley was an important figure in Australian literature and his poetry has been widely studied and admired.