| Walter Murdoch (1874–1970). The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse. 1918. |
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| 65. The Crazy World |
| | | By William Gay |
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| THE WORLD did say to me, | |
| ‘My bread thou shalt not eat, | |
| I have no place for thee | |
| In house nor field nor street. | |
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| ‘I have on land nor sea | 5 |
| For thee nor home nor bread, | |
| I scarce can give to thee | |
| A grave when thou art dead.’ | |
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| ‘O crazy World,’ said I, | |
| ‘What is it thou canst give, | 10 |
| Which wanting, I must die, | |
| Or having, I shall live? | |
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| ‘When thou thy all hast spent, | |
| And all thy harvests cease, | |
| I still have nutriment | 15 |
| That groweth by decrease. | |
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| ‘Thy streets will pass away, | |
| Thy towers of steel be rust, | |
| Thy heights to plains decay, | |
| Thyself be wandering dust; | 20 |
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| ‘But I go ever on | |
| From prime to endless prime, | |
| I sit on Being’s throne, | |
| A lord o’er space and time. | |
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| ‘Then, crazy World,’ said I, | 25 |
| ‘What is it thou canst give, | |
| Which wanting, I must die, | |
| Or having, I shall live?’ | |
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