POEM: A WASTED LIFE
A WASTED LIFE
A wasted life! This sad refrain
Comes surging through my ears again;
There’s no escape from thee, though fiend;
Thou art borne to me on every wind –
A wasted life! A wasted life!
By day or night, no peace for me;
Still, still before me I can see
The fragments of the dear dead past,
Which I (Oh! fool) from me have cast –
A wasted life! A wasted life!
I’ve tried to drown in lethean drain
This ruthless voice; but all in vain;
It comes with ten-fold force again,
And brings remorse to swell and strain –
A wasted life! A wasted life!
From out this deep dark Stygian sea,
While vainly struggling to be free,
I look above, and pray that I
No more may hear that awful cry –
A wasted life! A wasted life!
(Illawarra Mercury, April 8, 1884)
OF DRUNKS AND DRUG ADDICTS said
[...] A WASTED LIFE A wasted life! This sad refrain Comes surging through my ears again; There’s no escape from thee, though fiend; Thou art borne to me on every wind – A wasted life! A wasted life! By day or night, no peace for me; Still, still before me I can see The fragments of the dear dead past, Which I (Oh! fool) from me have cast – A wasted life! A wasted life! I’ve tried to drown in lethean drain This ruthless voice; but all in vain; It comes with ten-fold force again, And brings remorse to swell and strain – A wasted life! A wasted life! From out this deep dark Stygian sea, While vainly struggling to be free, I look above, and pray that I No more may hear that awful cry – A wasted life! A wasted life! (Illawarra Mercury, April 8, 1884) MELINDA KENDALL [...]