Rebel Hearts

An outcry in the bush below,     A crash, and boughs that sway,     And shouts of laughter let me know     Where my two ruffians play.     Barelegged, bareheaded, brown and free,     They lurk and prowl and spring;     Like tiger-cubs they disagree,     Like honeysuckers sing.     For in their hearts are echoes yet     From ages when they knew     The caves of green they now forget,     Though there they climbed or flew.     No cage set limits to their pace;     They held the hunt at bay;     And in their careless mien I trace     The savage mood to-day.     Theyll take no tidal drift, nor lie     And rot like souls of mud,     For sullen lip and flashing eye     Betray the rebel blood.     Go, flout the law your hearts disdain     Your foes are well arrayed     And take for guerdon love and pain,     And triumph unafraid.     In jungles where the night imparts     Her secret lore to you,     Lie still and listen to your hearts.     Be true, my sons, be true!