Dunedin from the Bay

Thomas Bracken

Go, trav’ler, unto others boast
Of Venice and Rome;
Of saintly Mark’s majestic pile,
And Peter’s lofty dome;
Of Naples and her trellised bowers;
Of Rhineland far away:—
These may be grand, but give to me
Dunedin from the Bay.

A lovely maiden seated in
A grotto by the shore;
With richest crown of purest green
That virgin ever wore;
Her snowy breast bedecked with flowers
And clustering ferns so gay,—
Go, picture this, and then you have
Dunedin from the Bay.

A fairy, round whose brilliant throne
Great towering giants stand,
As if impatient to obey
The dictates of her wand;
Their helments hidden in the clouds,
Their sandals in the spray—
Go, picture this, and then you have
Dunedin from the Bay.

A priestess of the olden time
(Ere purer rites had birth)
On Nature’s altar offering up
The homage of the earth;
Surrounded by grim Druids, robed
In mantles green and grey—
Go, picture this, and then you have
Dunedin from the Bay.

O never till this breast grows cold
Can I forget that hour,
As standing on the vessel’s deck
I watched the golden shower
Of yellow beams that darted
From the sinking king of day,
And bathed in a mellow flood
Dunedin from the Bay.
 
 

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A note from the editor

After 15 years in beautiful Dunedin, New Zealand, I’ll soon be relocating to beautiful Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

This means that, in the short-term, I won’t have capacity to source and publish poetry.

I look forward to reviving Dead Poets Daily later next year—or perhaps in 2024—but for now, it’s on indefinite hiatus.

To my hundreds of free subscribers: Thank you so much for your interest! You’ve sustained my enthusiasm for this project. If you choose to keep your subscription active, you’ll receive the first new poem when Dead Poets Daily resumes. (I won’t share your email address or use it for any other purpose.)

To my generous paid subscribers: Your last poem will be delivered tomorrow, 31 December 2022. You will receive a pro-rata refund after 1 January 2023. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and support—you’ve already covered the (low) running costs for this project for its first year and beyond.

I hope these poems have enriched your life they way they’ve enriched mine. I thank you again for your interest and support.

Warmest regards,
Ario Smith, Editor, DeadPoetsDaily.com