Jennings Carmichael

Jennings Carmichael, born Janet Gertrude Jennings in 1868, was an Australian poet and writer. Her literary work mainly consists of poems that reflect her pioneering spirit and connection to her homeland. She was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period that saw significant contributions from women in Australian literature. Despite her short life, Carmichael's poetry remains a testament to the rich cultural and historical landscape of Australia during her time.

February 24, 1868

February 9, 1904

English

Jennings Carmichael

A Womans Mood

I think to-night I could bear it all,
Even the arrow that cleft the core,
Could I wait again for your swift footfall,
And your sunny face coming in at the door.
With the old frank look and the gay young smile,
And the ring of the words you used to say;
I could almost deem the pain worth while,
To greet you again in the olden way!

But you stand without in the dark and cold,
And I may not open the long closed door,
Nor call thro the night, with the love of old,
Come into the warmth, as in nights of yore!
I kneel alone in the red fire-glow,
And hear the wings of the wind sweep by;
You are out afar in the night, I know,
And the sough of the wind is like a cry.

You are out afar, and I wait within,
A grave-eyed woman whose pulse is slow;
The...

Jennings Carmichael

An Old Bush Road

Dear old road, wheel-worn and broken,
Winding through the forest green,
Barred with shadows and with sunshine,
Misty vistas drawn between.
Grim, scarred bluegums ranged austerely,
Lifting blackened columns each
To the large, fair fields of azure,
Stretching ever out of reach.

See the hardy bracken growing
Round the fallen limbs of trees;
And the sharp reeds from the marshes,
Washed across the flooded leas;
And the olive rushes, leaning
All their pointed spears to cast
Slender shadows on the roadway,
While the faint, slow wind creeps past.

Ancient ruts grown round with grasses,
Soft old hollows filled with rain;
Rough, gnarled roots all twisting queerly,
Dark with many a weather-stain.
Lichens moist upon the fences,
Twiners ...

Jennings Carmichael