Poem: The Road That Has No End

The Road That Has No End by Australian poet Joseph Burrows from 1925 is now in the public domain. This poem was read in the woods at the Roman Camp, Bangor, Gwynedd on Sunday 6th October 2019. I hope you enjoy it.

Transcript

The Road That Has No End by Joseph Burrows Hast ever tramped along the road that has no end?

The far brown winding road,

Your one fast friend,

A tattered weather-beaten swag,

A silent mate To send his dumb warmth comfort to the heart,

A fount where dreams ascend.

There's wondrous freedom on the road that has no end,

A manna's heart glows,

His spirit leaps to blend,

Its joy of life with fierce wind's gust upon his face,

To lend its cry to nature's tumult,

Full and shrill As twilight shades descend.

The flowers bloom along the road that has no end,

Cool breezes blow,

The gum trees sway and bend,

The wild doves woo and softly coo,

Their soothing notes unmend,

Hearts throbbing pain To sweet content,

And peace lights on the mind's sad trend.

There's pain and toil along the road that has no end,

A sinking heart and weary feet that spend Their strength and lag and crave respite,

And dim tired eyes that tend to close their heavy lids Upon the stinging dusts that upward wend.

There are sweet still hours along the road that has no end,

Neath twinkling stars when night's deep shades are append,

A man's eyes shine with gathered tears,

And memories come to rend his straining heartstrings While above the paling lights his mood commend.

I love the road,

The swagman's road that has no end,

I love its joys,

That's pains and toils transcend,

It is my dreams,

The life that fills my heart,

And when death comes and would my peacefulness amend,

I pray that God may let my soul depart With my tattered swag beside me,

Amid my friends that never chide me,

And my face towards the distant clouded hill,

Where leads the far brown winding road that has no end.

Reviews

Beautiful! Soothing. Thank you!

Beautiful thank you and bless you

Lovely visualization about this road that has no end. Loved the ending when our soul departs. We’re still on the road that has no end. 🙏🏼🌈🙏🏼

Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem.

Beautiful, thank you!

Deep and very profound poem. A lot to think about. Thank you