1906310Brunette1886Victor James William Patrick Daley

When trees in Spring
Are blossoming
   My lady wakes
From dreams whose light
Made dark days bright,
   For their sweet sakes.

Yet in her eyes
A shadow lies
   Of bygone mirth;
And still she seems
To walk in dreams,
   And not on earth.

Some men may hold
That hair of gold
   Is lovelier
Than darker sheen:
They have not seen
   My lady's hair.

Her eyes are bright,
Her bosom white
   As the sea foam
On sharp rocks sprayed;
Her mouth is made
   Of honeycomb.

And whoso seeks
In her dusk cheeks
   May see Love's sign —
A blush that glows
Like a red rose
   Beneath brown wine.

This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired. According to Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright, the following works are public domain:

  • published non-government works whose author died before January 1, 1955,
  • anonymous or pseudonymous works and photographs published before January 1, 1955, and
  • government works published more than 50 years ago (before January 1, 1974).

This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days), and it was first published before 1989 without complying with U.S. copyright formalities (renewal and/or copyright notice) and it was in the public domain in Australia on the URAA date (January 1, 1996). This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.

Because the Australian copyright term in 1996 was 50 years, the critical date for copyright in the United States under the URAA is January 1, 1946.


This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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