MELINDA KENDALL

11/9/2007 - POEM: FAIRY MEADOW

FAIRY MEADOW

The fairies and elves from the meadow have gone

To some sylran spot, where no railroads are known,

Where no miners will dig through the bowels of earth

To disturb them, and drive them away from their hearth.

They are gone, I am sure; I have searched every nook,

By hillside, by wayside, by green mound, and brook,

No trace of their footsteps will be here seen again

They are all trodden out by the footsteps of men.

No more can the sound of their tripping be heard

As they dance in the moonlight around the green sward;

No; their music has ceased, and no more can be heard

To mingle its notes with the shy mocking bird.

Now, instead of the footprints of fairies, I see

The footprints of men, just returned from a spree,

With their pockets all empty, their head reeling round,

While an army of bottles lie strewn on the ground.

Now drinking and squabbling seem as much in vogue

That each neighbour thinks his next neighbour a rogue;

And while such sad doings and feelings remain,

We need never expect to see fairies again.

(Illawarra Mercury, May 8, 1884)

About Me

The life and writings of Melinda Kendall, 19th-century Australian writer, pioneer, teacher and mother of the (presently) more-renowned Henry. The image here is that of Emily Kendall , Melinda's youngest daughter ( no image of Melinda has yet been recovered ) .

Recent Posts

• FOREWORD
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: PART 1
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: PART 2
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: PART 3
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: PART 4
• THE LIFE HISTORY OF MELINDA KENDALL THROUGH HER WRITINGS: END NOTES
• BASIL & MELINDA'S MARRIAGE
• POEM: HENRY KENDALL (BY HIS MOTHER)
• POEM: LOST IN THE BUSH
• POEM: A WASTED LIFE
• POEM: THE LATE HENRY KENDALL
• POEM: TO A LADY, ON HER BIRTHDAY
• POEM: FAIRY MEADOW
• PROSE PIECE: A DREAM IN ILLAWARRA
• POEM: HOME OF HOPE
• POEM: BETTER THAN GOLD
• PROSE PIECE: BROOKER'S NOSE
• POEM: IN MEMORIAM - WILLIAM WARREN JENKINS, ESQ. (& ANALYSIS)
• POEM: THE WOULD-BE POET’S LAMENT
• POEM: A SONG

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