Australian and Other Poems/To the Hon. Roger Therry
TO THE HON. ROGER THERRY
Authority is hurtful to the bloom
Of all th' adornments that are seen to throw
Around the paths of life their welcome glow.
No flower or balmy shrub dispels the gloom
That marks the high-set cliff; but round the base.
Sometimes we see wild blossoms thickly strewn.
Nursed by the sheltered warmth the rock has thrown.
Thus, Therry, did thy function but increase
Thy will and influence in the charming task
To embellish life. The ermine, while it clad
The judge, the accomplished man could never shade;
The jurist's gown the scholar could not mask;
The wealth of eloquence the wig replaced.
While all the social virtues still thy presence graced