The Poems of Alfred Oram Lane

Poems

Poems written by Alfred Oram Lane (1881-1951)

In papers and several exercise books handed down to me, my grandfather Alfred Oram Lane composed and wrote a number of poems. He had the first poem below “Mother” printed on a small card so that he could distribute them on Mother’s Day, at church and other functions. He also, I was told, had a number of poems published in the Sydney papers under the name “Velox”. He probably recited selected poems on appropriate days, eg, Anzac Day. They are an expression of his faith, religion and all things good, in his personality and thinking. Most are dated but some are not and have been presented below in date order where the date is known.

Mother

Mother o’ mine, we honour you to-day;
As time goes on we greater tribute pay;
Your hand has led us through our tender years,
Your smile has cheered, dispelled our every fear.

We homage pay, as to a queen enthroned;
You in our hearts a regal sway hath owned;
You, in your love, revealed the joys divine,
None greater than the love of Mother mine.

Mother! the name in every country known,
All grades of life this precious Mother own;
Whether in high or low estate you be,
Mother, dear Mother, through eternity.

Mother o’ mine, stand brave and dauntless by;
We need thy touch that selfishness may die;
So tender, strong; so meek and yet so grand,
Help, Mother dear, that we may nobly stand.

Oh, angel life! to whom we owe our best;
Faint not; be strong, your love will stand the test;
Your sweet’ning power, so on our way we plod,
Guides and inspires our footsteps unto God.

Hymn tune “Ellers” – Not to be taken away.
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Introduction

Look at the crowds in this fair land of ours.
See, if you can, just a sweet little man.
Now, what do you think,
Helps take out the kinks,
Helps to smooth out the wrinkles,
Till every eye twinkles,
With mirth and with pleasure,
With the sweet things we treasure
In the life and the heart,
As your fine little man,
And your sweet little woman
On the pathway of life make a start?

Well here for a space.
Dull care they shall chase.
With rhyme: and with jingle
The young folk will mingle.
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How happy of heart
Each doing his part!
It makes one just wish,
That Life’s span would repeat,
And the Springtime of Life
Come again and again.
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Life is full of boundless joys,
Full of wealth that ne’er annoys,
Hap’ly filled, its stores o’erflowing,
With its treasures hearts are glowing.

But the world, in hurrying by,
Sees not where these treasures lie,
Knows not of the Springs of Life,
Loses all in desperate strife.

From Life’s springs they never drink,
In the turbid stream they sink,
Lost to Light and Truth and Love,
To that world so bright above.

Rise, my brother, sister, friend!
For thy efforts God will send,
Glory, Honor, Life, and Love,
Fit you for “The Home Above”.

In the glory of that Home,
Ne’er in distant lands to roam,
In the presence of All-love,
Live for ever far above.

19.4.09 – Gunning
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Our reading great thoughts of others

Pure gems of thoughts!
Sweet treasures rare!
Born as we are,
But far more fair.

From grander world,
From glorious Say,
As angels bright
You light the way.

On through the world,
You cheer, you guide.
From words you spring,
In words you hide.

Some see you not!
Poor mortals they.
But Souls will see
You straight away.

Your body form
My feeling knows —
Quick dead, and cold
As winter snows.

To love your form,
Would be in vain,
Such blindness could
But end in pain.

Your Soul it is
Embraces me,
And Life is Light
And God I see.

The pure in heart.
Their God shall see
Through pure, white Soul,
From Body free.

30/11/17
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Through the chaos of battle,
Soul is winning out its way;
Men in agony are yearning
For the dawn of the New Day.

And this awful Hunnish darkness,
From the land that gave it birth,
Spreads along from line of battle,
Like a pall upon the earth.

Men again with sight renewed
Search the gloom for Calv’ry’s Hill.
See with joy their real Saviour
Doing there the Father’s Will.

Their’s the Hill! Their’s the Cross!
Theirs the Father’s will to do!
Theirs the grave, Theirs the clothes
Theirs the resurrection too.

Many dwelt in graves of self;
But in Christ has stirred within,
Shed the clothes, the stone removed.
Whispered “Go My way and win!”

22/4/18
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Christ has conquered! So shall we,
If we do as once He did, —
Place our bodied on the Cross,
And of mortal sense be rid.

First we live the mortal life
With its wicked sense and sin;
But we soon find this a grave,
Where the Christ-Life lies within.

Then the gentle stir is felt,
Conscious we become of gloom,
Grave clothes must be laid aside,
If we’d rise above this doom.

If this new birth we would have,
Stones and grave clothes move away,
Rise in good things pure and true.
Step out to the Endless Day.

A O Lane 23/4/18
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Life moves on from day to day,
Like a river to its ocean,
And along its onward way
Rocks will oft obstruct its motion.

Does it fret o’er troubles met?
Are the cares to block the way?
O’er the rocks the river splashes,
Laughs and gurgles on, away.

And, in all its winding way,
Brighter spot can never be found, —
Truer study of life’s worth, —
Than those spots where rocks abound.

A O Lane 12/5/18
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On this your natal day,
I wish you perfect joy;
God’s blessings on Life’s way.
His love without alloy.

A O Lane 28/5/18
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The Cross

Just a Cross on Calv’rys hill!
Christ our Lord the living cross,
Placed upon a world of wrong,
Shows how God would have us cross.

If wrong we meet, then cross it out!
Cross it with the Good and True,
Cross, and Cross, and Cross again,
Go on crossing till we’re new.

Painful though the crossing be,
Steadfast, faithful, loyal prove,
Christ has suffered so can we,
Soon will Right the wrong remove.

After crossing wrong with right,
Right, throughout the world will gain
Every living soul and life.
For our Christ’s Eternal reign.

Cross the dead things every day,
With those heavenly things we prize,
And, as Christ our Saviour rose,
By our Cross-ing we shall rise.

A O Lane 14/5/18
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Doing Something

Only a thought supressed
Only ideas clearly stated
Only a wrong redressed
Only a right enstated

Only a help to the world,
Proving a blessing each day,
Giving ideas that are right,
To clear all that’s wrong in the way.

Choosing the highest and best,
Learning to “stand all alone”,
Hating to stay or to rest,
Till life to perfection has grown.

Using the things that are known
To reach to the heights far above,
Onward, to know the unknown
And live with our God in His Love*.

* Love here stands for Heaven or Perfect harmony.
Harmony means the absence of discord, disorder, or wrong.
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Pefection

Perfection is an atmosphere,
Both spiritual and real,
Another name God’s Kingdom has,
Which all His Children feel.

This Kingdom of perfection,
Is now within each one;
No need to wait the future
To be, of God, a son.

We have our God’s assurance
About the “Narrow Way”,
The way of Truth and Goodness
And Love’s Eternal day.

What truer can we have than Truth?
What righter the the Right?
Then right what’s wrong and true your life
Be Perfect in God’s sight.

A O Lane 9/6/18
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Beauty

Beauty is expression,
Within the sphere of Right,
Of Pure and Perfect Spirit,
From gentleness to might.

It is a present evidence
Of power we all may gain,
For Rightness is a state of Heav’n,
Our Spirit can attain.

‘Tis Rightness gives results so grand!
‘Tis Truth portrayed by Good!
Nor could these things one moment be,
Without a Mind that’s Good.

And Right and Truth and Loveliness
Are really quite alive,
No other life there is, in fact;
Without them none can thrive.

Then when we see the Right and True —
Divinity expressed,
We’re in the presence of our God,
And silently addressed.

He seems to sat to each of us;
“Your world now beautify;
In Goodness, Truth, and Right and Love,
Your Heav’n shall ever lie”!.

A O Lane 18/6/18
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Friendship

A friend is here!
Come now and see
What this friend
To me can be!

Let the winds
Blow cold & strong,
Moore to each
Do we belong.

Let dull rumour
Cloud the sky,
We still see
The sun on high.

When our link
Is sorely tested,
Then is proved
The power invested.

Strong and true
For now and ever,
Naught on earth
Our bond can sever.

All true friends
Divine in Love
Are the Gifts
Of God above.

Eternal now
This link that binds;
Both strong and pure
Keeps hearts and minds.

Link first with God!
His friendship’s best!
Thro’ Him alone
Comes Joy and rest.

A O L 14/7/18
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My Image

In my mind I have an image,
That I carry everywhere;
Just my picture of our Father
Keeping me with loving care.

Here in life, His Life I share,
For He’s with me all the time,
Not a moment does he leave me,
Constant in each day and cline.

True we mortals cannot see Him,
But He’s real as you and me,
For we feel and see His Spirit,
Life, and Joy, so full & free.

Now just from your own clear picture,
Of our God of Truth and Power;
See Him, not a spirit, but a person,
Walk and talk with Him each hour.

Live and be a fit companion,
Every moment on Life’s way.
Let His presence mould your being,
Fit it for Eternal Day.

A O L 4/8/18
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The following was published in an unknown newspaper issue No 1350

Along the gleam home

The following verses, written by Mr A O Lane, son of Mr Samuel Lane, of Windsor, have been handed to us, and as they possess more than average merit, we publish them:

I sit alone with Nature,
In silence deep and far,
And see Life’s landscape truly,
With all the things that ARE.

All is so quiet with stilness,
And all so hushed within,
My sole spreads forth its pinions,
From paths I’ve wandered in.

Dense mists and clouds have gathered,
Are spreading o’er the way,
And dark’ning all the landscape,
Like fogs at break of day.

But out of such a silence,
And thro’ such clouded way,
There bursts a path of sunlight
From The Eternal Day.

And right along this pathway,
Beyond the call of earth,
My Soul in anxious flutter,
Attains the Great New Birth.

Along this beaming pathway,
Tho’ clouds are hov’ring near,
A patch of blue is showing,
Right in the hear of Fear.

I fly right for the op’ning,
And in the sky above,
I see the Source of Radiance,
The Eternal Son of Love.

And as I’m looking backward,
Upon the shining way,
I feel that Love has led me,
On to Eternal Day.

Then o’er the clouds of time and sense,
The mists of mortal clay,
I speed along, nor fear to fall,
For Love transcends the Way.

And now in place of silence,
With fears and depths of night,
I feel the sweetest thrillings,
And know the Joys of Light.

For under foot and deep, deep down,
The mortal life now lies,
The grave of one long “Night of Life”,
The tomb from which Life lies.

A lose page of this poem is dated 16.5.14
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The following are from one of A O Lane’s exercise books where he recorded poems and verses written by well known poets and writers, such as Kipling, Tennyson, Browning, Napoleon, Shakespeare, Longfellow, Benjamin Franklin. They were probably written in the mid 1930s. He could have written some others as there are some where the author is not named.

And when He saw his work below was done,
He gently called him, ‘My son, My son!
I need thee for a greater work than this.
Thy faith, thy zeal, thy fine activities
Are worthy of my larger liberties”

A O L

There can be no true greatness apart,
from greatness of soul: no true happiness
apart from God (goodness, truth,& Love);
nothing lasting and abiding, save that
which is built upon the Eternal.

A O L

My heart to Thee I give for aye,
O Jesu, sweetest, best;
Thy heart to me give Thou I pray,
O Jesu, loveliest.

A O L

But life shall on and upward go;
The eternal step of progress beats.
To that great anthem clam and low
That God repeats.

Let me live always
Not for myself alone, but have a part,
Such as a frail and erring spirit may,
In Love which is of Thee,
And which indeed Thou art.

A O Lane

And when the last Great Scorer comes,
To write against your name,
He asks you not who won or lost,
But how you played the game,

A O Lane

The Greatness of God’s Love!
What happiness it brings!

It stirs the soul to rise,
Above the din of things;
It makes our hearts rejoice,
And feel, while Heaven sings.

It makes our burdens light,
Adds brightness to our days,
And in the vale of Night,
Sheds Light upon our ways.

Without this Love so Great,
Our lives could never be
Brought to a Grand Estate
Through all Eternity.

How grateful I should be,
To feel this Love Divine;
To know this Gift of God,
Is really, truly mine.

A O Lane
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Sir Charles Kingsford Smith – The Airman

Of all the heroes of the air,
That fast increasing band,
Our “Smithy” holds the pride of place –
The greatest of our land.

With air his native element,
His winged activity
Has made the oceans look like ponds,
Dispelled immensity.

The single flight, however great,
To him contentment gave;
As problems of the airways rose,
The hero’s all he gave.

All honour to our airman bold,
Whose flights have won renown,
Whose flying deeds, world circling, form
The glory of his crown.

Australians all with one accord
Hail “Smithy” best of all.
The laurels are upon his head;
He lives, should death appal.

24/11/35
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Wattle

Where the golden wattle blooms,
There enchantment lies;
Lingering thrills of joyousness,
‘Neath our sunny skies.

So beautiful the shining gold
Of wattle’s flowery spray!
I linger in its fragrant charm,
And silent homage pay.

Bright emblem of our Commonwealth,
The golden wattle spray!
The harbinger of coming Spring,
And herald of brighter day.

Each golden ball of florets formed,
Of golden balls each spray;
The whole tree sprayed with golden shine,
In Nature’s bright array.

And thus our emblem points a truth-
How harmony may reign;
How brightness may be shed abroad,
And life its gold retain.

When winter comes, and life is hard,
Soon, wattle gold will bloom,
And hearts display, in sweet array,
The gold shine after gloom.

Velox 23/6/39
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The Real Power

There’s a power supreme throughout the world,
A power in harmony displayed;
A power that moves in air, on sea and land,
With perfect unison arrayed.

A power that moves the planets in their course,
That prints the modest wayside flower;
A power that makes harmony so vast,
Yet stoops to send the fresh’ning shower.

Immeasurable Might whose Hand so deftly moves
To hold the planets on their way!
To touch the tender opening buds of love!
This might of love just fills each day!

Who organises harmonies sa vast,
Has built on Love, and Truth, and Right:
The other way to build Eternal things,
No other way to joy and light.

Within this harmony of life and work
That’s going on from day to day,
Mere man is out of tune in selfishness,
A discord that must end its lay.

The hate of man, his selfishness and greed,
Re-act upon themselves to die;
Destruction forces work but to their end,
Then self-destroyed, at last, they lie.

Against the mighty power of Love and Truth,
This life that means all-harmony,
The selfishness of man must break itself,
While love moves on eternally.

Stop into Love and Truth and Right to-day,
They’re organized eternally;
‘Tis they that lift, that harmonize with joy,
Creating Heaven really.

Be not depressed with endless fears and strain,
Though wars disrupt and blast;
‘Tis raging selfishness that’s dying fast,
While the life of Truth and kindness lasts.

Velox 13.12.40
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Christmas

Christmas tide is at the flow,
Along the shores of life;
It brings good cheer and happiness
In days of stress and strife

The tide swells up and hearts are kind,
And thoughtfulness prevails;
The spirit of the time is caught,
And love sets many sails.

And so the tide sweeps round the world,
The human loads to lighten,
Reveals the better way of love,
Our paths of life to brighten.

Let’s realize what love has done
In a world of self and greed;
It’s winning through to the perfect day,
Following the Christmas lead.

Let’s ride the Christmas tide of life!
Let’s sail the sea of love!
Let’s hang over stockings in the night
And get the gifts above!

Velox 14/12/40
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War and Peace

Aggressors spread oppression’s toll,
Like monstrous parasites;
Their ghoulish deeds and gorging greed
Are devastating blights.

The Nazi demonstrations prove,
That self and hate and greed
Let loose the powers of hell on earth,
To enthral, to ruin, to bleed.

To halt, to overcome aggression’s drive
The powers of freedom fight;
Then Love must stand ‘’gainst self and greed,
And work through truth and right.

All life is stirred by fears and dreads;
Not one but deeply thinks;
Each sees that Love and truth must stand,
And selfishness must sink.

When freedom’s forces win the war,
But half the work is done;
Cruel systems then must fall away,
If peace is to be won.

The selfish greed in national life,
Where cruel ambition feeds,
Is the mass production of the self
Of its people’s thoughts and deeds.

The economic systems now
Oppress the people more;
Compelled to move within their mesh
They suffer, rich and poor.

Our present systems now must pass,
For night gives place to day;
Co-operation brings the dawn
Of a glorious living way.

Co-operation roots out self,
Releases all oppressed,
Gives for security and peace,
With perfect life and rest.

Co-operation works for all,
And Love is manifest;
Then life begins to live, and dwell
In happy, joyous quest.

Velox 17/8/41
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War on the Peace Front

The peace may be rendered unstable
By selfish ambition’s demands;
By systems that force men to battle
For a place in the sun in our land.

In peace time we battle and struggle
To win but a crust of good bread;
In peace time we’re forced to a conflict
By the over-head systems and dread.

In war time and peace time we’re battling,
And the winner walks off with the spoils
Be it business or social positions,
The systems have all in their coils.

Our systems are the worst aggressors;
They over-run all human life;
The good and the strong are forced downwards
In a vortex of suffering and strife.

No aggressor has caused so much horror,
Nor brought such a range of distress,
As the systems we painfully suffer,
That shackle, confine and oppress.

All our lives we have scarcely been living;
All our days are a struggle and strain;
And instead of the joys that we long for
Our struggles were hampered with pain.

We sigh for the dawn and the day-time
That surely will follow this night,
With the co-operative systems creating
A peace, that will make all wrongs right.

Velox 27/10/41
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The Rainbow of Love

‘Tis LOVE that fills the whole wide world,
That rolls the planets round;
‘Tis LOVE that makes all harmony
In thought, in growth, in sound.

From planets to the atoms small,
This spirit works its will;
A loveliness pervades the whole,
Of power, and truth, and skill.

The rainbow beauty of this LOVE
Is seen in many forms;
They arch across the clouds of life,
In contrast to the storms.

And LOVE is rainbowed everywhere!
Machines are running true;
Designer’s thoughts in truth and right
Are LOVE that’s coming through.

Cohesion holds the atoms all
To forms, in Nature’s craft;
It is a rainbowed part of LOVE,
In the Great Designer’s draft.

In works and factories, we make
Our products good and new
And see again LOVE’S rainbow parts –
The right, the good, the true.

In people’s homes, both rich and poor,
The rainbow tints come bright,
And there we learn they find their way
Through goodness, truth, and right.

The harmonies that fill the world –
Those rainbow tints of LOVE,
They give to us the joys we know,
And speak of joys above.

The clouds that crush our life to-day
Were made by brutal man,
The pagan tyrants bid for power
“’gainst life’s eternal plan.

But LOVE with truth and right can’t die;
Eternally they stand,
While hate and self are cleaned right out
Of every heart and land.

VELOX 22/3/42
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The Star of Anzac

The star of Anzac shines to-day,
With its light of hope and cheer;
It has moved in power ‘long freedom’s skies,
In the lives we held so dear.

In the night so dark, and clouding fast,
Its light can never fade,
For it shines in the souls of Anzac men,
And the glory they have made.

Divinely placed by the Master Hand,
When He walked the earthly ways,
It shines and guides our Anzac sons,
In the battle dust and haze.

With its guidance true, they shall “see it through”,
To the end of the war-torn way;
Then the rising sun shall disperse the clouds,
And usher the Grand New Day.

Velox 31/3/42
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The Anzac Cross

The Southern Cross is the Anzac Cross,
In the star-lit southern sky;
In the way of the cross the ANZACS trod,
E’en to dare, to fight, to die.

Their deeds now shine o’er a darkened world,
In a galaxy of light;
And the way of the cross shows clearer to us,
In this time of curtained night.

The’ these curtains of SELF and wrong are drawn,
And fearsome night appalls,
The stars of liberty will shine,
Till THE DAY dawns over all.

And, brighter among the brightest stars,
The Cross of Anzac shines;
It points the way to Freedom’s Day,
And glorious hope defines.

We’re looking now towards the cast,
With ANZAC light above;
We know that soon the DAY will dawn,
Through sacrifice and love.
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The Anzacs

When all the world was rent and torn,
By fear and war’s alarms,
Ambition’s cruel and selfish thrusts,
Drew millions under arms.

The ANZACS from the Star-crossed south,
Their torch of freedom raised;
Afire with zeal they did their part,
And stemmed the tide hell-crazed.

The mouth of hell was closed again;
The joy of Freedom sped;
O’er fields of sacrifice and pain
A deathless glory spread.

Immortal ANZACS live to-day,
Enshrined in Austral hearts;
They live, inspire, and move to deeds,
So we may play our parts.

Our nation’s life is richer far,
Its spirit stronger placed,
For ANZACS ever lead us, where
Oppression must be faced.

Their flaming torch of freedom raised
Will ever light the way,
That we may rise and follow on
Unto that PERFECT DAY.
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Scout Song

There were scouts, scouts,
Tall and slim, and stout,
In the Hall,
In the Hall.
They were strong, strong,
See them march along,
In their khaki togs and all.

My heart just thrills and then I know,
I surely could not miss our show,
I surely could not miss our show.

There was pride, pride,
Pride they couldn’t hide,
In their stride,
In their stride,
There was dash, dash,
Nothing false or rash,
In their stunting for their side.
My heart just thrills etc……………….

There was fun, fun,
Games and tricks a ton,
With the boys,
With the boys.
There was work, work,
Work they wouldn’t shirk,
For it adds to all their joys.
My heart just thrills etc………………

A O Lane 2/7/42

Sung to Chorus of “The Quartermaster’s Stores.”
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A Gift

The tiny buds are showing now,
Upon the rose bush there;
Within my heart begins a thrill, —-
A present wrapped with care.

Just over-night it came —— was there;
A gesture from a friend:
I take it as a gift indeed,
That LOVE alone could send.

Velox 11/10/42
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Aggressor – Selfishness

The aggressor marches through fair lands,
Once held by people free;
A super race, great lords of all,
With blasting touch and destiny.

In league with death and fiends of hell,
These crashing over-lords
Leave hideous horrors in the trail
Of their marauding hordes.

These supermen proclaim abroad,
“An Order New we bring”;
And spill the blood of all free men,
Till ALL are underlings.

Their glory then, of course, would shine
Above a world of slaves;
They’d pride themselves on ruling power,
Of guns, and swords, and staves.

How could their glory ever fade,
With millions at their call?
With all the man from manhood gone,
Ruled out beyond recall.

Full well we know their time would come,
As come it did to Rome;
And so the process, first to last,
Is selfishness brought home.

A O Lane 29/3/43
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Leading on

We thrill at the news of victories won.
But why all the joy in our heart?
Is it only because such a victory’s won
Which causes some fear to depart?

We thrill when we hear that some progress is made,
As our forces move on in the fray;
Are we happier only that we’re safer today,
And danger seems farther away.

We thrill just to know that our soldiers win fame,
As with valour they dash bravely on.
Is it only because of the fame that is ours,
And the laurels we gracefully don?

True hearts will look deeper than these surface straws,
And see in the valorous deeds
The destruction of wrong, and of evil o’ercome, —
The giving of living true leads.

Let us lead against wrong and determinedly fight
For the joys of the true and of right,
For the brother and sisterly love we hold dear,
And the heaven that’s almost in sight.

A O Lane 17/7/43
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The Wattle Spray

Bright emblem of our Commonwealth,
The golden wattle spray;
We linger in your fragrant charm,
And silent homage pay.

Sweet harbinger of coming Spring;
As emblem of our nation now,
We think we hear you say, —

“These floral balls, of florets formed,
Stand for communities,
Linked up by highways o’er our land,
In happy unity.”

“Co-operate and give the world
The gold-shine of the good;
My Spirit asks that harmony —
That LOVE be understood.”

“Co-operate ! Co-operate!
Is the call of wattle gold;
Stand by with unself deeds of love,
That perfect life unfold !”

Then winter of our life slips by,
And Spring is on the way;
And wealth of human life must show,
Like gold in wattle spray.

A O Lane 23/7/43
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Bring in the Dawn

This night of life we suffer now
Must test our values out,
Must clear away oppressive wrongs,
Rule selfishness right out.
The happier Day will never dawn
Unless a change is wrought;
Each heart and mind a battlefield,
Where wrong is met and fought.

Aggressive forms of thought will spring
From power and self and greed;
Stand by and deal a personal blow
That others may be freed.

We find this Hitler forces arrayed
In human lives to-day,
And we must face up, fight and win,
To bring in That NEW DAY.

The things in life now Hitlerized
Are selfish power and greed;

Our economic system too,
That hurt, oppress and bleed.

‘Gainst all wrong forms each must contend
Within his heart and mind,
And, armed with Love and Brotherhood,
Co-operation find.

The power, through human kindness felt,
That harmonizes all,
Is joyous Love through Truth and Right, —
That Heaven for which we call.

As Hitler brought the hordes of Hell,
And death and ruin spread,
So we must bring the Hosts of Heaven,
By God, Himself, he led.

A O Lane 15/11/43
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Self, The Aggressor

The forces of freedom, of justice and right,
Are locked in a struggle world-wide,
With forces aggressively waging war
To conquer, oppress, and o’er-ride

A world full of beauty is being defaced
By SELF in its true colours shown;
A world full of wonder and loveliness wrecked
By threats of the worst terrors known.

In the world of the heart, and the mine, and the soul,
There is suffering greater by far;
With hate and with greed as appallingly cruel,
There’s nothing this self will not mar.

This Hitlerized SELF, with its hate and its greed,
Well branded a devil from hell,
Has been lurking an age in the life of the world,
Till its deeds its true character tell.

And now we can see how vile it can be,
This SELF once so mild and so bland;
Its true nature revealed, now no longer concealed,
Its extinction all Heaven demands.

Look out for your SELF that it is not unkind,
Living daily a negative life;
For the negative means there is death walking round,
And an evil that’s stirring up strife.

Now the positive SELF lives a life that makes life, —
No death, but a happiness true;
Its power is from LOVE, which is Brotherhood too,
And it builds us a Heaven that’s due.

A O Lane 19/11/43
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This Day Must Dawn

There’s a day that must dawn, for as surely we know,
That the might of our life far spent;
We’re adjusting our values to harmonise all,
For we find this is Life’s full intent.

The wrong must be righted, the truth must be lived,
And LOVE be the power of all lives;
But unlike to-day we must find a new way,
New systems and joys with new drives.

Let us activate LOVE in a true harmony,
In systems and laws and in life;
Let us rule out the standards that darkened the past,
Where money and class were so rife.

By our rightness of doing we love everyone,
And a set-up of right spreads our love;
Being true also means that we love each and all;
TRUTH and RIGHT are the channels of love.

If our set-up is wrong, then our life carries on,
But no LOVE and no happiness flow,
If its false and untrue, much distress is produced,
Naught of love and of joy can we know.

It is LOVE through the channels of TRUTH and of RIGHT,
That can harmonize lives everywhere,
But the hate and wrong stir up strife in a hell,
Filling life with suspicion and cares.

Let us change to this spirit that makes harmony;
Let us change hampering systems for new;
And with LOVE, RIGHT, and TRUTH in the hearts of all men,
Let us bring in a DAY that is NEW.

A O Lane 21/11/43
_______________________________________

After Night, the Dawn

There are indications of the dawn,
Of a new and better day,
For the souls of men are waking
From this night where self has sway.

In this night great powers are filched
By the tyrants high and low;
And living elements of life
Stagnate and cannot flow.

We all know the selfish mixture
Has prevailed in life so far,
Working to this world-wide crisis,
Spreading chaos near and far.

Spreading death to life expression,
Killing hopes of better day’s —
Everywhere its blighting touch
Trailing ruin in our ways.

Ruin comes in war’s aggression;
From our systems old and wrong;
And within our moral make-up,
Where this SELF has been so long.

SELF is Hitlerized to-day
So that all may clearly see

Its hideous, cruel, and bloodstained picture —
Vile artistry of things to be.

But manhood’s waking, dawn is breaking,
And soon we’ll live our lives;
And freedom’s light shall shine again,
In the DAY for which we strive.

A O Lane 13/12/43
_______________________________

The Light of Anzac

All praise for ANZACs’ glorious deeds,
In freedom’s cause world-wide!
We hail them conquerors, indeed,
Who even Hell defied!

As sun with trailing glory won,
“To West” so many went;
And like the stars their orbits run,
Within our firmament.

Their glory shines with other stars,
Bright, beautiful, sublime;
Their beams of freedom warm the hearts
In every land and clime.

Their light discovers hideous shades,
That still our lives depress,
Oh, Light of freedom, lift the night!
Dispel the world distress!

A O Lane (May be sung to and common metre in the Hymn books.)
_________________________________

The Star of Anzac

The Southern Cross has shone supreme,
O’er Austral’s sunny, spacious land,
Where Freedom’s sacred flame burns bright,
And life is lived with high demands.

Beneath this Cross a nation grew,
And a star rose in its eastern sky —
‘Twas of Anzac, valiant, brave, and true,
Our light, to cheer while clouds role by.

This star of Anzac leads us on;
Lights our paths and shows the way,
Thro’ war and stress, thro’ change and fear,
To Freedom’s joy and that NEW DAY.

We’ve bravely faced both dark and death,
As cheered and led by the Anzac gleam;
It warms our hearts and steels our nerves;
Our faith and hope lie in its beam.

We forward, ever forward, march
‘’Gainst selfish tyranny and war;
Our Star ne’er sets while self and greed
Are rife, and threat’ing at our door.

In Freedom’s cause our Anzac Star
Shines for a true and better way,
Where unself-love remoulds all lives,
Revealing NOW THE BETTER DAY.

A O Lane 14/4/44
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Australia’s Emblem

Australia’s emblem, the bright Wattle Spray,
With gold, paints the landscape, o’er a;; our fair land,
Recording a message for all who may read,
For all who of life make the higher demands.

The beautiful Spray! A community flower!
Those balls of bright florets unitedly shine,
Splashing with gold the dark green of our bush,
While thrills for its beauty fill your heart and mine.

The Spray stands for nation, the balls for our towns,
And florets for people, who live in our land;
Community spirit pervades the whole Spray,
And its message in gold we must all understand.

Combining and blending, co-operate Spray!
Each bright golden ball is a union, the’ small;
And like towns that are prosperous with shine of success,
They stand by the highway’s connecting them all.

Unself combining with glorious grace,
The spirit of beauty suffuses the Spray;
Enhanced by the help, that is mutually given,
Revealing life’s gold, on co-operate way.

Australia’s emblem is pointing the way,
With the plan of the system we’re destined to take,
For the more perfect way in our life and our work;
Where the gold of all lives joys the days without break.

When the Spring comes along after Winter has gone,
The bright golden Spray will its message repeat —
“That a spirit is born, that will bring in the dawn,
If we follow the gold of that life more complete.

A O Lane 14/5/44
________________________________________

Motive Power

The boys at the front are fighting to-day
That monstrous wrongs may die;
They fight with a heart and soul alight,
With a flame that none may deny.

Forward they go in Freedom’s cause,
Fighting the hordes of hell;
Their deeds awake in the home-front mind
Awareness that all is not well.

The spirit that wages aggressive war,
No matter the front or the field,
Expresses itself in greed for power,
That others to it must yield.

The Nazi stands for Hitler’s creed
Of selfish domination;
Taking from life the heart and soul,
With gluttonous contemplation.

In distance zones, and home-fronts too,
We meet this hideous brute;
The home-front fiends set up their fight,
To win the peace and loot.

If Nazi types should ever win,
They’d hold but power, not LIFE, —
A power negated by its deeds,
A hollow shell of strife.

This power control for selfish ends,
Suppresses hopes and wills;
And lives that should unfold and grow
Restricts, denies, and kills.

And all the selfish greed and strife,
With power to crush and hold,
Is but a hollow negative,
Where LIFE is dead and cold.

But power, like LIFE, must motivated be
By LOVE, through truth and right;
The beauty of man’s brotherhood
Its guiding beacon-light.

A O Lane 2/11/44
_____________________________

Motive Power

The boys at the front are fighting to-day
That monstrous wrongs may die,
They fight with a heart and a soul slight,
With a flame that none may deny,

Forward they go in Freedom’s cause,
Fighting the hordes of hell;
Their deeds wake in the home-front mind
Awareness that all is not well.

The spirit that wages aggressive war,
No matter the front or the field,
Expresses itself in greed for power,
That others to it must yield.

The Nazi stands for Hitler’s creed
Of selfish domination;
Taking from life the heart and the soul,
With gluttonous contemplation.

In the distant zones, and home-fronts too,
We meet this hideous brute;
The home-front fiends set up their fight,
To win the peace and loot.

If Nazi types should ever win,
They’d hold but power, not LIFE, —
A power negated by its deeds,
A hollow shell of strife.

This power control for selfish ends,
Suppresses hopes and wills;
And lives that should unfold and grow
Restricts, denies, and kills.

And all the selfish greed and strife,
With power to crush and hold,
Is but a hollow negative,
Where LIFE is dead and cold.

But power, like LIFE, must motivated be
By LOVE, through truth and right;
the Beauty of man’s brotherhood
Its guiding beacon-light.

A O Lane 2/11/44
_________________________________

Love is on the way

‘Tis LOVE that saw right down the past
Our systems born of SELF and greed;
It saw these systems feeding SELF,
Inducing wrong and selfish deeds.

LOVE sees these wrong and selfish deeds
Intensified and widely spread;
The awful economical stress,
Where life at most means daily dread.

‘Tis LOVE that saw aggression come, —
A hideous monster leading on,
Ambitious hate, to murder, blast,
Enslave, till life is dark and gone.

By LOVE’S decree came Freedom’s call,
“Stand by your love, and truth, and right”;
‘Tis LOVE is stirring men to-day,
That’s moving armies in our fight.

In combat zones, on home fronts too,
Our citizens both work and fight,
Below the surface fault and wrong,
Inspired by Love, and Truth, and Right.

Our home front has its front line troops,
In mental-spiritual combat zones;
‘Tis here new systems must “Arrive”,
And life be set in happier tones.

Then LOVE will see the grand NEW DAY,
Where systems help each life to live,
Where selfish greed no more appears,
Where life means rather “HELP and GIVE”.

A O Lane 23/1/45
________________________________

Emotions and Life

Our daily emotions are varied and many;
They come with a rush as our life steps along,
In the daily routine, and the happenings around,
But mostly when things are distorted and wrong.

When the mail has arrived and no letter has come,
A negative flash sweeps the high-lights of life,
The lines are confused and supports may collapse,
And some fears, and a sense of frustration is rife.

Such negative things come our way day by day,
Disappointment, frustration, and heart-ache as well;
Then minor emotions of negative hue,
While crowding the picture, their own story tell.

To allow these emotions to dominate life,
And live with the negative happenings ‘round,
Spells death to all brightness, all gladness, all joy,
Reversing the heaven, where joys can abound.

And all this we see every day of our lives;
The negative things make a hell, we well know;
And the positive form a sweet gladness and joy,
Creating a heaven wherever we go.

The onus is placed with each life in its world,
And supplies are provided for HEAVEN just here,
So with LOVE let us go, winning gladness and joy,
Never moaning, frustrated, surrounded by fear.

While we’re held under systems, oppressive and cruel,
Let us take as our comfort that “LOVE is on the way”;
And through all the negative turmoil and strife,
Re-order our lives for that happy NEW DAY.

A O Lane 15/2/45
_______________________________________

Victory and Peace
Victory is in the air;
There’s talk of jubilation
World-wide has been the stress of war,
Now comes the great elation.

This jubilation is to us
A happy, precious thing;
A crown that’s won in nobleness,
Our peace, our joy to bring.

This precious time we’ll celebrate,
Nor mar with wrong and sin,
But fill our hearts with freedom’s joy,
And thankfulness to HIM.

Let joy inspire and strengthen us
To noble Home-front deeds,
Until wrong systems are removed,
And souls of men are freed.

Free from dictators, large and small;
Free from the bureaucrat;
From insecurity and fears,
That trail in SELFO-CRAT.

Instead of SELFO-CRATS in power,
With all their schemes and greed,
CO-OPERATE in harmony,
That life may LIVE indeed.

A O Lane 7/4/45
_______________________________

A Garden : A Heaven

A garden full of many kinds
Of perfect growth and grace;
Such lovely blooms of beauty rare
Fin there an honoured place.

And all those flowers flourish there,
So silent, calm, and bright —
A shrine of beauty and of life;
Each flower God’s smile of Light.

These faces with an upward look,
So calm, so pure, so sweet,
So radiant with a perfect love,
A joy of Life Complete!

Each flower a shining touch of love,
With beauty held up high,
That you and I may joy to see,
As we are passing by.

Sure this is heaven here and now!
God smiles from flowers to-day!
He puts this happiness in life,
For joy along our way.

The garden is a HEAVEN now!
God’s touch is surely there.
It’s easy now to realise
That HEAVEN is everywhere.

A O Lane 10/10/45
————————————————–

Garden Memories

I cling to those thoughts of that day:
They sing in my heart a sweet song:
In the garden of flowers we love,
Thrilling joys gather round in a throng.

In the fabric of life they are knit
To a pattern most wondrously fine,
Taking shape as the days pass us by,
All of grace and love so sublime.

As we walk every day ‘mong the flowers
Knowing all that to us they now mean,
HEAVEN spreads o’er the dull things of life,
Till the dark musty soil is unseen.

A O Lane 11/10/45
________________________________

Priority for man

We have fought aggressor nations,
Peoples with alarming might;
We have stemmed the tide of conquest;
Hurled our weight for what is right.

In the crash we learned of terrors,
Learned how selfish degradation
Opened hell, displayed its horrors
In terrible demonstration.

Now fighting’s done, and victory’s won,
Selfish greed, and proud ambition
Writhe and squirm in loathsome case,
Meeting fearful retribution.

A peace has come! But Oh the nightmare!
Surely SELFISHNESS must die!
Die within the hearts of people,
Where the peace-time conflicts lie!

It’s “All for All” must lead us on;
And “Newer Deals” will be the plan;
For why let profits rule our lives?
Priority must go to MAN.

A O Lane 19/10/45
_________________________________

Love is King

Real Life is Love – “The All for All”!
And once acquired a kingdom is;
No person is elected king,
For Love is King, and life is bliss.

We live by Truth and can be sure,
That Life’s true Joys for us will flow,
In constant stream and crystal clear,
Right on through Life where’er we go.

We live by Right as well as Truth,
For love is set to work that way;
When so tuned in then Heaven comes,
And here we have all perfect days.

A O Lane 29/10/45
_______________________________

My Garden, and God’s

A loved one writes about his garden —
How the blooms are bright and rare,
How he spends devoted hours,
Tending them with loving care,

How he works with deepest longing,
For the growth that will repay,
With glorious blooms and joyous thrilling,
As buds open day by day.

All the garden seems to echo,
With words, “I love you so,”
And my thoughts are deep and tender,
As I see the sweet blooms grow.

How they sweeten life’s stern measures!
Brace one’s life with purpose high!
Calling forth the well thought treasures,
God’s pure blossoms from the sky!

A O Lane 5/11/45
_______________________________

To our Noela

Best Birthday wishes from Mum and Dad,
May all your days be bright and glad.

On this your Birthday, dear,
We wish you “All Good Cheer”.
Another year has passed and gone;
The years to come we think upon,
And pray Life’s blessings throng
In joy, and Love, and song.

Then always know,
We love you so,
Both day by day,
And all the way.

29/11/45
________________________________

The Worlds new-birth

The world is set for picture shows,
Ideas are showing on the screens;
And all mankind must see, must learn,
And comprehend what each scene means.

Pure LOVE and Truth are positives,
With Goodness, Harmony, and Right;
While SELF and Greed are negatives,
With ugly Wrongs and cruel Night.

The negative ideas of Self,
With lust for power and greed,
Still screen their wars, tho’ in new spheres, —
Dramatic scenes oppression breeds.

The screening stirs all life to act;
To sift and test, to bring to light
The values of life’s positives,
‘’Gainst negatives that basely fight.

As days go by the scenes move on,
Contentions and distress are spread;
The positives and negatives arrayed,
While people move in fear and dread.

And so the world goes on the while,
In constant throes of suffering,
Bit in the darkness and distress
The positives are conquering.

Such surging of ideas, their clash,
The “move from point to point” afray!
The wak’ning minds of all mankind
Announce “NEW-BIRTH” is on its way!

And so must Heaven here be born,
Among all; peoples of all lands,
Within the hearts and minds of men;
Then all in harmony will stand.

A O Lane 12/1/47
________________________________
This appears to be a copy of a newspaper clipping

Australia

Land of Australia. Land of our love!
Set in the oceans, with blue skies above.
Gem – like and cherished, inlaid through lives,
True land of freedom, where liberty thrives.

Land of the sunshine! O land of the free!
Loyalty, Service we give unto thee;
Stand we like brothers, but worthy to be
Citizens all, in God’s land by the sea.

Raise we our voices, stir we our hearts
Pledge we our loyalty, playing our parts.
Great be thy destiny, star-crossed thy path,
“Onward Australia!’, the song of our hearts.

A O Lane 11/3/48
______________________________________

Our perfection

We’d like to reach perfection now;
But like a star of old,
So distant seems its perfect light,
So bright, so grand, so cold.

We cannot reach the skies maybe,
But God provides our stars,
Profusely set within our lives,
To guide us where we are.

This Kingdom of perfection
Is now within each one;
No need to wait the future,
To be, of God, a son.

We have our God’s assurance
About the “Narrow Way”,
The way of Truth and goodness,
And Love’s eternal day.

Perfections are these positives
Of Love, and Truth, and Right,
While negatives of selfishness
Destroy, enslave, and blight.

What truer can we have than Truth?
What righter than the Right?
Then right what’s wrong, and true your life,
Be Perfect in God’s sight.

A O Lane Loftus NSW 18/4/48
_______________________________

That one word, “MOTHER”

There’s a name that is dear to all hearts;
A name that we honour today,
The name that echoes around the world —
”All Stations calling”: ‘MOTHER’.

The sweetest name on every lip,
That precious name of “Mother”;
So dear along life’s troubled way:
Compared, there is no other.

Mother! The name that stands for Love!
‘Twas Mother’s Love that shared
Our joys, dispelled our childhood fears,
Directed our thoughts and cared.

Great name, that gave us tender love;
An angel on God’s earth;
No grander name was ever breathed
Of majesty, and worth.

To this Queen of all, in hearts enthroned,
We homage pay this day;
We thank you for your blessings all!
Praise God for Mother’s way!

Mothers in all lands and climes.
We greet you with good cheer!
Our grateful hearts are thanking you,
God bless you, Mother dear!

A O Lane Loftus NSW 1/5/47 or 48
_____________________________

The Kindly word

How beautiful the kindly word!
Its power of love to cheer!
To clear away discouragement,
And chase away all fear!

When kindly words are being said,
And kindly deeds are done,
Sweet fruits of joy and brotherhood —
Those thrills of Heaven won.

The kindly word is beautiful!
it sooths the saddened heart;
It gives to life the light of hope,
And heals the cruel smart.

The kindly word is POSITIVE,
And warms the heart with love;
It eases all distress and care,
Though clouds are dark above.

The kindly deed is a flash of light,
A torch to carry about;
A torch to show where Christ now treads,
Putting Negatives to rout.

The kindly word and the kindly deed
Are charged with God’s own Light!
The LIGHT that proves God’s Heaven’s Here
In LOVE, and Truth, and Right.

A O Lane Loftus NSW 16/2/49
__________________________________

ANZAC

ANZAC! Thou spirit of the brave!
Inspiring our souls and lives,
Quickening the pulse, clearing the vision,
Till “That Day” arrives.

Immortal Anzacs! Our hearts impress
With imprints of the glorious,
That lives may stand in shop, and field,
So Freedom is victorious.

Brave ANZAC men, who blazed our trail,
With blood and lives most dear,
That we, the loved ones left behind,
May we see our way, nor fear.

The ANZAC thoughts touch every nerve,
Intensify our Love —
Our love for GOD, our King, our homes —
They lift our lives above.

The ANZAC call is “Brotherhood!”
“Full Freedom now for all!”
Inspired, we pray that GOD may bless
Our answer to this call.

A O Lane Loftus NSW 26/2/49
_________________________________

Our way to life

I saw the flowers in a garden fair;
The stars in the heavens above;
I saw all men as brothers true,
In a world of unself LOVE.

I gazed on the flowers expectantly,
And I heard the Gardener say,
“When man does his best, I do the rest,
For so is the heavenly way.”

I gazed at the stars in the midnight sky;
I skimmed through those orbs of light,
There, I found the spirit of Love in charge,
With their shine through Truth, and Right.

I saw the world of the hearts of men,
Where LOVE had come to dwell,
All lives attuned through Truth and Right,
No greed, with its selfish Hell.

Instead of the greed, and self, and grab,
And the selfish strain to win,
Concern about their brothers’ good,
With joys going out and in.

Just as the beauty of the flowers,
And the starry lights abound,
They spread their Love through Truth and Right,
To all the world around.

And so I saw this Heaven on earth,
Where men were brothers true;
Our earthly Heaven, and OURS to make
With thought and systems new.

Such a tinkering with our wond’rous life,
In a soul-less greed for gain!
Let us read aright the stars and flowers,
That make LOVE’S was so plain.

A O Lane Loftus NSW
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