Poem by Henry Kendall

Leaves from Australian Forests (1869). Arakoon

   Lo! in storms, the triple-headed
       Hill, whose dreaded
   Bases battle with the seas,
   Looms across fierce widths of fleeting
       Waters beating
   Evermore on roaring leas!

   Arakoon, the black, the lonely!
       Housed with only
   Cloud and rain-wind, mist and damp;
   Round whose foam-drenched feet and nether
       Depths, together
   Sullen sprites of thunder tramp!

   There the East hums loud and surly,
       Late and early,
   Through the chasms and the caves,
   And across the naked verges
       Leap the surges!
   White and wailing waifs of waves.

   Day by day the sea-fogs gathered—
       Tempest-fathered—
   Pitch their tents on yonder peak,
   Yellow drifts and fragments lying
       Where the flying
   Torrents chafe the cloven creek!

   And at nightfall, when the driven
       Bolts of heaven
   Smite the rock and break the bluff,
   Thither troop the elves whose home is
       Where the foam is,
   And the echo and the clough.

   Ever girt about with noises,
       Stormy voices,
   And the salt breath of the Strait,
   Stands the steadfast Mountain Giant,
       Grim, reliant,
   Dark as Death, and firm as Fate.

   So when trouble treads, like thunder,
       Weak men under—
   Treads and breaks the thews of these—
   Set thyself to bear it bravely,
       Greatly, gravely,
   Like the hill in yonder seas;

   Since the wrestling and endurance
       Give assurance
   To the faint at bay with pain,
   That no soul to strong endeavour
       Yoked for ever,
   Works against the tide in vain.

1. Early Poems (1859-70). In Memoriam—Nicol Drysdale Stenhouse
2. Other Poems (1871-82). How the Melbourne Cup was Won
3. Early Poems (1859-70). Cui Bono?
4. Other Poems (1871-82). Aboriginal Death-Song
5. Other Poems (1871-82). Sydney Exhibition Cantata

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