Australian poets: Shaw Neilson. Angus Robertson Ltd. Sydney., 1963

Component identifier:

Item 38

Content Summary:

Quarter-morocco over the original wrappers as issued. This little volume contains 61 poems, selected by Judith Wright, who has also supplied an introduction, and notes on the poems, taken from James Devaney's biography of Shaw Neilson.

Inserted: Shaw Neilson's original signed manuscript of To the Loved One in her Absence, a poem of three stanzas. A.G. Stephens, writing to Neilson, 17 November 1919, says: "'To the Loved One in her Absence' will have to wait. It needs three or four more stanzas to finish, perhaps the mood will come some day". (This letter is in the H.F. Chaplin collection.) The poem in its final version is printed in this volume at page 45, under the title Love in Absence. Neilson's original version is printed below. His script lacked punctuation and it is as follows.

The tim'rous scent of babyhood

Doth dimly follow thee

And thou art like a new born song

In a sheltering melody

And thou are gone and light is gone

I fiercely wish thee near

The day like a long sickness is

And I count the moon a year

Tho' thou art gone but a little way

I am in deep alarm

I say Oh God her dear body

If it should come to harm

Names:

John Shaw Neilson

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