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.
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