Page:An anthology of Australian verse (IA anthologyofaustr00stev).pdf/128

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John
Liddell
Kelly

IMMORTALITY

At twenty-five I cast my horoscope, And saw a future with all good things rife— A firm assurance of eternal lifeIn worlds beyond, and in this world the hopeOf deathless fame. But now my sun doth slope To setting, and the toil of sordid strife, The care of food and raiment, child and wife,Have dimmed and narrowed all my spirit’s scope.
Eternal life—a river gulphed in sands! Undying fame—a rainbow lost in clouds! What hope of immortality remainsBut this: “Some soul that loves and understands Shall save thee from the darkness that enshrouds”. And this: “Thy blood shall course in others veins”?

HEREDITY

More than a fleshly immortality Is mine. “Though I myself return again To dust, my qualities of heart and brain,Of soul and spirit, shall not cease to be.

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