Skyline Riders and Other Verses

“Outside”

Henry Lawson

I WANT to be lighting my pipe on deck,
    With my baggage safe below—
I want to be free of the crowded quay,
    While the steamer’s swinging slow.
I want to be free of treachery,
    And of sordid joys and griefs—
To be out of sight of the faces white,
    And the waving of handkerchiefs.

I want to be making my ship-board friends,
    I want to be free of the past—
I want to be laughing with kindred souls,
    While the Heads are opening fast.
I want to be sailing far to-day,
    On the tracks where the rovers go,
To feel the heave of the deck, and draw
    The breath that the rovers know.

Back    |    Words Home    |    Lawson Home    |    Site Info.    |    Feedback