Shadows Before

Henry Lawson

"Like clouds o'er the South are the nations who reign
On fair islands that we would command;
But clouds that are darker and denser than these
Have sailed from an Isle in the Northern Seas
And rest on our Southern Land.

Low in dust is our Goddess of Liberty hurled
At our feet, and the time is at hand,
When we, the proud sons of the southern world,
Beneath a proud banner of freedom unfurled
And true to each other shall stand.

If e'er in the ranks of the Right we advance;
Though our enemies come like a flood,
We'll meet them like lions, aroused from our trance,
And show that a streak of the Olden Romance
Still runs in our commonplace blood. 

Next 10 Poems

• Henry Lawson : Since Then
• Henry Lawson : Sweeney
• Henry Lawson : Taking His Chance
• Henry Lawson : The Ballad Of The Drover
• Henry Lawson : The Blue Mountains
• Henry Lawson : The Bush Girl
• Henry Lawson : The Cambaroora Star
• Henry Lawson : The Captain Of The Push
• Henry Lawson : The Christ Of The 'never'
• Henry Lawson : The City Bushman

Previous 10 Poems

• Henry Lawson : Sez You
• Henry Lawson : Send Round The Hat
• Henry Lawson : Scots Of The Riverina
• Henry Lawson : Said Grenfell To My Spirit
• Henry Lawson : Republican Pioneers
• Henry Lawson : Reedy River
• Henry Lawson : Queen Hilda Of Virland
• Henry Lawson : Peter Anderson And Co.
• Henry Lawson : Past Carin'
• Henry Lawson : Out Back