Poem

To Hannah

by Henry Lawson · 1905

Spirit Girl to whom ’twas given    To revisit scenes of pain,From the hell I thought was Heaven    You have lifted me again;Through the world that I inherit,    Where I loved her ere she died,I am walking with the spirit    Of a dead girl by my side.
Through my old possessions only    For a very little while,And they say that I am lonely,    And they pity, but I smile:For the brighter side has won me    By the calmness that it brings,And the peace that is upon me    Does not come of earthly things.
Spirit girl, the good is in me,    But the flesh you know is weak,And with no pure soul to win me    I might miss the path I seek;Lead me by the love you bore me    When you trod the earth with me,Till the light is clear before me    And my spirit too is free.
Sources, publication & text notesReference details
Canonical recordPOEM-000729
Copy-textWhen I Was King and Other Verses (1905), Project Gutenberg Australia; selected copy-text retained exactly; substantive wording and line/stanza layout independently confirmed against SRC-000067 under D-180
Source recordSRC-000068
Rights determinationRGT-000802
Text statusCANONICAL TEXT READY
TranscriptionDIPLOMATIC_D208_D180

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While The Billy Boils · Public-domain text · www.whilethebillyboils.com.au/poems/to-hannah

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