June 1950 School Magazine

June, 1950

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

June, 1950

lst Page (timidly):

"We wished to warble th ee a ditty

HUMANITY. In the sile nce of the spheres, Where a million phantoms ply An endless course, with eye Unseeing and passive ears To the ancient, ageless word, Older than any dust Which once a challenge heard And thrilled with a battle-lust; Delving relentlessly Into the misty sky, 'Mid spectral shapes, we see The searching human eye. In the bare and wailing wastes Where the ravenous monster, death, Breathing a baneful breath, A cold elixir tastes; Where ihe craven cliffs cry out To the shuddering air in fear , And, mocking their hollow shout, A voiceless echo hear. Host in the depthless dark Of chill, a light we find, An infinitesmal spark, The daring human mind . When ocean lifts her breast To sigh, nnd sheds her tears, And heaven's face appears To share her strange unrest; When lightning races sound To reach the distant shore , And the gull's scream is drown 'd Eeneath th e growing roar; Then, like a prow of s teel To cleave each watery hill, The foundering ship shall feel The steadfast human will. But what is valour worth When brutal men compete With steel and scorching heat To kill the weeping earth; Till even the falling rain Of loss, a nd loneliness, And the grey mist of pain, Absorbed by fear and s tress , Evaporate and leave A black and desolate scene, Without a soul to grieve The earth which might have been.

now fa ir Sir"

They strike up w ithcut further invitation : "Ah! we would tell of a tinkling bell Ding a ling-a-ling-dell, In the spring time-hey rroddy, noddy- Sir Cuthbert (gloomily) : "Off the note again!" lst Page: "Methinks we'd better scoot." 2nd Page : "You said it brother."

We must unhappily pass over the delightful mention of our now familiar friend the bell in "little Mr. Pope of Twicken- ham's" deliciously scandalous couplets. Likewise Dr. John- ston 's weighty dissertation upon the possible origins of its brass p lating. However in passing we cannot but stop to look over the products of that romantic age of the eighteen hundreds, where Messrs. Coleridge and Wordsworth wandered rather aimlessly over hill and dale viewing waterfalls with ecstatic eyes and nearly precipitating themselves over cliffs in their efforts to perpetuate the view as an example :- "There is a haggard school girl, Who standeth front of me, With phantom eyes she looketh up "There was a bell" quoth she. But wait a minute . .. . haven 't I seen something just a little like this before ? With great regret we must perforce pass over Mr. Tenny- son's harmless if a little flowery e ffusions. But before we go our course cannot be comple te until we hear just a little of what " .... screechings most abyssmal .... blue and white spots dance before my eyes .. . . Ah! it comes toward me . ... a round brown leather globe, with increasing speed . . . . and through all, the harsh clamour of a bell. (don' t become a la rmed . only morning athletics practice). But wait a minute .. .. is it really one o'clock already? You 'll have to excuse me g irls -I almost forgo t that it's my English Paper tomorrow. -H.C., V. 42 our modern poe ts have to say on the subject. QUOTE : from "HITLER & AGAMEMNON".

HELEN BOULTON, VL

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