December 1959 School Magazine

De cember, 1959

Brisban£l Girls 1 Grammar School Magazine

13risbano Girls~ Grammar S.chool Magazine

December, 1959

THE SCHiOOLGIRL. (With apologies to Cowper).

EULOGY. As the end of our las t yea•r approaches, it is only fitting tha t we should pay tribute to one w hose stec:dy, purposeful gaze has for generations watched over succeeding Sixth Forms at this school. Never has a frown been seen to crease her calm untroubled b row; never has an angry flush of crimson dyed her smooth cheek; never have her lips parted to utter scorn or rebuke . She rerr..ains serene and mc:jestic above all petty disturbance, her silent forberance an inspiration to her beholders. From time to time there have been moronic beings who poured empty ridicule upon this paragon of godlike wisdom, deriding her as an G"geing o rnament, a·nd a useless figurehead, declaring it to be high lime she was pulled down from her pedestal. To this immature criticism we rr:ake reply that none of us is growing any younger, a nd that few of us are as useful o s we should like to think we are ! It is not to be expected that those ignorant enough to overlook her obvious intellectua l merits should respond to the infinitely more subtle appeal of her physical attractions, but dabblers in the Arts will be well aware that h ers is the type of beauty which sent Praxiteles rea·ching for hammer and chise l. Her classical profile is chc:Tacterised by a fine aquiline nose, small pointed chin, and graceful neck . Her thick wavy hair is habitually swept back into a decidedly unregulation "pony-tail." This deviation from the pc:·th of vir tue has doubtless been ignored in face of her many sterling quG"li!ies- a point which should be noted by those desirous of similar hair styles . It is to be hoped that future genera tions of Sixths will respect Minerva's longevity, adrr~ire her remc:rkably well-preserved appearance, and dust the o ld girl at least once a term !

f orth goes the schoolgirl, leaving with regret The comfort of her bed, to wield the pen And turn the page in yonder schoolroom bleak, From nine to four her necessary task. Shabby and brown and full, with splitting sides, With broken handle, and weighing half a ton, Her bag goes w ith her. Heavy below her arm, Now hangs it down; and now with tearing noise Catches, with sliver claws, or wicked clasp, At threads from laddered stockings floating .free, Then shakes its leather coat, and bursts with a ge. Muttering all the while . the red-faced maid Bends down to pick it Up; then stops for naught But now and then, with pressure of her thumb , To a d just the faulty s lip of a silver badge Which dangles from her tie: the panama hat Flies far behind, untidying ali her hair.

J.B., V.B.

A dabbler in the Arts .

JOAN GELLIE, VI A .

SUNRISE. When the faded grey of misty rain Veiled the night with silver pearl, And washed the shadows with a slain Of sea·-shell pink, a filmy light Glowed, and dulled, then glowed again.

And in the paleness was a bliss Of colour, wait ing for the touch Of morning sunlight to dismiss The shadows, a nd reveal a ll g lory With its saffron-tinted ki ss.

A flush of light, more rose than red, WG"S strengthened by the rising sun Which struck the eastern rim, and spread A wa ve of gold across the sky · As, with the dawn, the darkness fled .

Jenifer Kelly, VB.

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