That Great Waiting Silence Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABB CCBB DEFF GGHH IIBB JJBB KKBB| Where shall we go for prophecy Where shall we go for proof | A |
| The holiday street is crowded pavement window and roof | A |
| Band and banner pass by us and the old tunes rise and fall | B |
| But that great waiting silence is on the people all | B |
| - | |
| Where is the cheering and laughter of the eight hour days gone by | C |
| When the holiday heart was careless and the holiday spirit high | C |
| The friendly jostling and banter the wit and the jovial call | B |
| But that great waiting silence is over the people all | B |
| - | |
| Oh but my heart beats faster and a gush that was nearly tears | D |
| Clatter of hammers on iron and Australian Engineers | E |
| Goods from Australian workshops proud to the world at last | F |
| And I see in a flash from the future Australian guns go past | F |
| - | |
| The morning sun glare softened by a veil like frosted glass | G |
| There is no breath of a head breeze as the Labour banners pass | G |
| There seems no sign of a danger or a change for the workers now | H |
| But for some great new born spirit the banners seem to bow | H |
| - | |
| Where shall we go for our platforms Where shall we go indeed | I |
| Shall we follow the cackle of women that follow the jesting Reid | I |
| Through indifferent seeming cities and the browned men straight and tall | B |
| But that great waiting silence is on the people all | B |
| - | |
| Twist and tangle and mystify bully and weep and bluff | J |
| Marry the truth to a glaring lie and say it is good enough | J |
| Boast of your vice and villainy in your virtue rant and bawl | B |
| But that great waiting silence is over the people all | B |
| - | |
| Brothers who work with shovel or pen labour by day and night | K |
| Brothers who think of the hearts of men ponder and speak and write | K |
| Work for Australia s destiny content till you hear the call | B |
| For the spirit that builds a nation is over the people all | B |
Henry Lawson
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