Have you seen the Bush by moonlight, from the train, go running by,
Here a patch of glassy water, there a glimpse of mystic sky?
Have you heard the still small voice calling, yet so warm, and yet so cold:
“I’m the Mother Bush that bore you! Come to me when you are old?”
Did you see the Bush below you sweeping darkly to the range,
All unchanged and all unchanging, yet so very old and strange!
Did you hear the Bush a’calling, when your heart was young and bold:
“I’m the Mother Bush that nursed you! Come to me when you are old?”
Through the long, vociferous cutting as the night train swiftly sped,
Did you hear the grey Bush calling from the pine-ridge overhead:
“You have seen the seas and cities; all seems done, and all seems told;
I’m the Mother Bush that loves you! Come to me now you are old?”
ENJOY MORE
The Ceylon Press publishes a range of podcasts including The History Of Sri Lanka; the off-grid Jungle Diaries podcast; Island Stories, the podcast that explores what makes Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan; the Wild Isle Podcast: Stories from Sri Lanka’s Nature; a range of complete Audio Books about Sri Lanka; as well as Poetry from The Jungle. All these, along with eBooks, dictionaries, guides and companions can be found at www.theceylonpress.com, based at The Flame Tree Estate & Hotel in the jungle northwest of Kandy: www.flametreeestate.com.
The copyright of this podcast recording is David Swarbrick @The Ceylon Press 2025.
POETRY FROM THE JUNGLE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE COPYRIGHT CREDIT:
Published in 1922, this is Henry Lawson's last poem. Copyright © Henry Lawson.
