To Henry George In America.

Not for the thought that burns on keen and clear,
    Heat that the heat has turned from red to white,
    The passion of the lone remembering night
One with the patience day must see and hear -
Not for the shafts the lying foemen fear,
    Shot from the soul's intense self-centring light -
    But for the heart of love divine and bright,
We praise you, worker, thinker, poet, seer!
Man of the People, - faithful in all parts,
    The veins' last drop, the brain's last flickering dole,
    You on whose forehead beams the aureole
That hope and "certain hope" alone imparts -
    Us have you given your perfect heart and soul;
Wherefore receive as yours our souls and hearts!

Francis William Lauderdale Adams

Francis William Lauderdale Adams (27 September 1862 – 4 September 1893) was an English writer, poet, dramatist, and social reformer. His literary work often reflected his radical socialist views. Adams lived a life marred by poverty and struggles with his health, eventually committing suicide at the age of 30. Despite his brief life, his contributions to literature and social thought remain significant.

Francis William Lauderdale Adams

A Glimpse Of China. In A Sampan.

Francis William Lauderdale Adams, Simple Poetry

To John Ruskin. (After Reading His "Modern Painters.")

Francis William Lauderdale Adams, Simple Poetry

William Wallace.

Francis William Lauderdale Adams, Simple Poetry

Australia.

Francis William Lauderdale Adams, Simple Poetry

English

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Henry George. (Melbourne.)

I came to buy a book. It was a shop
Down in a narrow quiet street, and here
They kept, I knew, these socialistic books.
I entered. All was bare, but clean and neat.
The shelves were ranged with unsold wares; the counter
Held a few sheets and papers. Here and there
Hung prints and calendars. I rapped, and straight
A young girl came out through the inner door.
She had a clear and simple face; I saw
She had no beauty, loveliness, nor charm,
But, as your eyes met those grey light-lit eyes
Like to a mountain spring so pure, you thought:
"He'd be a clever man who looked, and lied!"
I asked her for the book. . . . We spoke a little. . . .
Her words were as her face was, as her eyes.
Yes, she'd read many books like this of mine:
Also some poets, Shelley, Byron too,

Francis William Lauderdale Adams

To Charles Parnell.

One thing we praise you for that is past praise -
    The dauntless eyes that faced the rain and night,
    The hand that never wearied in the fight,
Till, through the dark's despair, the dawn's delays,
It rose, that vision of forgotten days,
    Ireland, a nation in her right and might,
    As fearless of the lightning as the Light, -
Freedom, the noon-tide sun that shines and stays!
O brave, O pure, O hater of the wrong,
    (The wrong that is as one with England's name,
    Tyranny with cant of liberty, and shame
With boast of righteousness), to you belong
    Trust for the hate that blinds our foes like flame,
Love for the hope that makes our hearts so strong!

Francis William Lauderdale Adams

To An Unionist.

"If you only knew
How gladly I've given it
All these years -
The light of mine eyes,
The heat of my lips,
Mine agonies,
My yearning tears,
My blood that drips,
My brain that sears:
If you only knew
How gladly I've given it
All these years -
My hope and my youth,
My manhood, my Art,
My passion, my truth,
My mind and my heart:

"O my brother, you would not say,
    What have you to do with me?
You would not, would not turn away
    Doubtingly and bitterly.

"If you only knew
How little I cared for
These other things -
The delicate speech,
The high demand
Of each from each,
The imaginings
Of Love's Holy Land:
If you only knew
How little I cared for
These other things -
The wide c...

Francis William Lauderdale Adams

To England.

I.


There was a time when all thy sons were proud
    To speak thy name,
England, when Europe echoed back aloud
    Thy fearless fame:

When Spain reeled shattered helpless from thy guns
    And splendid ire,
When from Canadian snows to Indian suns
    Pitt's soul was fire.

O that in days like these were, fair and free
    From shame and scorn,
Fate had allowed, benignly, pityingly
    That I was born!

O that, if struck, then struck with glorious wounds,
    I bore apart
(Not torn with fangs of leprous coward hounds)
    My bleeding heart!


II.


We hate you - not because of cruel deeds
    Staining a glorious effort. They who live
    Learn in this earth to give and to forgive,
Where he...

Francis William Lauderdale Adams

The Answer.

"Men and boys, O fathers, brothers,
    Burst these fetters round you bound!
Women, sisters, wives and mothers,
    Lift your faces from the ground!

"O Democracy, O People,
    East and West and North and South,
Rise together, one for ever,
    Strike this Crime upon the mouth!

"Bid them not, the men who loved you,
    Those who fought for you and died,
Scorn you that you broke a small Crime,
    Left a great Crime pass in pride!

"England, France, the played-out countries,
    Let them reek there in their stew,
Let their past rot out their present,
    But the Future is with you!

"O America, O first-born
    Of the age that yet shall be
Where all men shall be as one man,
    Noble, faithful, fearless, free! -

"...

Francis William Lauderdale Adams

To E. L. Zox. {89} (Melbourne.)

We thank you for a noble work well done.
There is a kindness - ('tis the truer one;
    The better part the simpler heart doth know),
The care to give the day a brighter sun

To these, the nameless crowd that drags on slow
The common toil, the common weary woe
    The world cares nought for. But your work secures
Thro' union strength and self-respect that grow.

There is a courage that unflawed endures
The sneer, the slander of earth's epicures.
    And here are grateful women's hearts to show
This kindness and this courage, both are yours!

Francis William Lauderdale Adams