Surely God was a lover, when he bade the day begin,
Soft as a woman’s eyelid – white as a woman’s skin?
Surely God was a lover when he made the trees so fair?
In every leaf is a glory caught from a woman’s hair.
—John Shaw Neilson, “Surely God Was a Lover” (1910)
Hi Ben!
ReplyDeleteA PROTEST AND A PROTEST
A certain old maid at Port Victor
had many strange pets to afflict her,
her Kangaroos fought
with the emus she caught
and when she protested, they kicked her
John Shaw Neilson
(poor old maid)
Thanks, Steph -- good to see that you've been reading Australian poetry. Now we have two kinds of quotes from Shaw Neilson: the ridiculous and the sublime. ;-)
ReplyDeleteOff topic (well only just) but there is a letter today in the UK newpaper The Independent by one Rev Kim Fabricus: is it by any chance the one and the same...?
ReplyDeleteIt's a fair cop, James!
ReplyDeleteIt's just me being awkward again! I confess to taking a perverse pleasure in being a pebble in other people's shoes.
I like Neilson, Ben - he was an interesting man. His parents came from the Isle of Skye and that's somewhere I want to go.....
ReplyDelete