Poem

The Rush to London

by Henry Lawson · 1913

You’re off away to London now,Where no one dare ignore you,With Southern laurels on your brow,And all the world before you.But if you should return again,Forgotten and unknowing,Then one shall wait in wind and rain,Where forty cheered you going.
You’re off away to London, proved,Where fair girls shall adore you;The poor, plain face of one that lovedMay never rise before you.But if you should return again,When young blood ceases flowing,Then one shall wait in wind and rain,Where forty cheered you going.
It may be carelessly you spokeOf never more returning,But sometimes in the London smoke,You’ll smell the gum leaves burning;And think of how the grassy plainBeyond the fog is flowing,And one that waits in shine or rain,Where forty cheered you going.
Sources, publication & text notesReference details
Canonical recordPOEM-000153
Copy-textFor Australia and Other Poems (1913), Project Gutenberg Australia, anchor TheRushtoLondon; selected copy retained exactly and independently aligned to the complete 1913 Standard Publishing Company scan (Google Books Db4vAQAAMAAJ)
Source recordSRC-000003
Rights determinationRGT-001134
Text statusCANONICAL TEXT READY
TranscriptionDIPLOMATIC_D208_D180

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