| Walter Murdoch (1874–1970). The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse. 1918. |
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| 67. Stars |
| | | By Dowell O’Reilly |
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| WILD eyes—and faces ashen grey | |
| That strain through lofty prison bars | |
| To see the everlasting stars, | |
| Then turn—to slumber as we may: | |
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| Even as we are, so are they, | 5 |
| And here is peace for all who know | |
| The stars still follow where we go, | |
| When heaven and earth have passed away. | |
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| Obedient to the Unknown Power, | |
| From out the ruin of a world | 10 |
| A clustered galaxy is hurled | |
| To glimmer through its steadfast hour: | |
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| The blazing sun of Shakespeare’s soul | |
| Shattered to star-dust, fills again | |
| With meteor-flights the immortal brain | 15 |
| That seeks a yet more splendid goal; | |
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| And still a voice—that now is ours— | |
| Repeats for aye the unknown word | |
| That thrilled the heart of beast and bird, | |
| Ere man had learned to love the flowers. | 20 |
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