Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, The

<h2> Under the Shadow of Kiley's Hill </h2> <p>This is the place where they all were bred;<br/> Some of the rafters are standing still;<br/> Now they are scattered and lost and dead,<br/> Every one from the old nest fled,<br/> Out of the shadow of Kiley's Hill.<br/> <br/> Better it is that they ne'er came back &mdash;<br/> Changes and chances are quickly rung;<br/> Now the old homestead is gone to rack,<br/> Green is the grass on the well-worn track<br/> Down by the gate where the roses clung.<br/> <br/> Gone is the garden they kept with care;<br/> Left to decay at its own sweet will,<br/> Fruit trees and flower beds eaten bare,<br/> Cattle and sheep where the roses were,<br/> Under the shadow of Kiley's Hill.<br/> <br/> Where are the children that throve and grew<br/> In the old homestead in days gone by?<br/> One is away on the far Barcoo<br/> Watching his cattle the long year through,<br/> Watching them starve in the droughts and die.<br/> <br/> One in the town where all cares are rife,<br/> Weary with troubles that cramp and kill,<br/> Fain would be done with the restless strife,<br/> Fain would go back to the old bush life,<br/> Back to the shadow of Kiley's Hill.<br/> <br/> One is away on the roving quest,<br/> Seeking his share of the golden spoil,<br/> Out in the wastes of the trackless west,<br/> Wandering ever he gives the best<br/> Of his years and strength to the hopeless toil.<br/> <br/> What of the parents? That unkept mound<br/> Shows where they slumber united still;<br/> Rough is their grave, but they sleep as sound<br/> Out on the range as on holy ground,<br/> Under the shadow of Kiley's Hill.<br/></p> <p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0049" id="link2H_4_0049"></SPAN></p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />