Joseph Furphy Good Poems
- 1. The Fly In The Ointment
When the great Creator fashion'd us, and saw that we were good,
He commission'd us to dominate the planet as it stood.
But His ordinance meets denial still, and peace remains unknown,
For the Boer is always with us, calling certain lands his own.
... - 2. The Schoolhouse On The Plain
(From 'An Idyll of the Wimmera.')
On the geodetic line, where the parish boundaries join
At a level and interminable lane
... - 3. A Psalm Of Councel
Though some good folks may take it ill,
As trifling with parsonic frill,
Thus saith the Lord to Jim and Bill,
In admonition stern and straight:â??
... - 4. A Psalm Of Resignation
In spite of his imposing plea,
A freeman whom the truth makes free
Is often fairly up a tree,
And marvels why it should be thus.
... - 5. The Death Of President Lincoln
(A Romance.)
December 11th, 1867.
... - 6. Virtues That Pay
You argue â?? as sympathy governs your bias â??
That Wisdom distributes the capon and crust,
Indulging the sinful, and stinting the pious,
Or starving the wicked, and fattening the just.
... - 7. Glory To God; To Men Good Will!
Opposed to Jewish Temple-rites,
Strange to the lore of Greece,
That message comes from starry heights,
A key to lasting Peace.
...
