Flesh Poem by Mary Eliza Fullerton

I have seen a gum-tree,
Scarred by the blaze
Of the pioneer axe,
Mend after long days;
Lip to lip shut
Of the separate bark,
Till the gape of the wound
Was a vanishing mark.

I have seen in the hunt
The pulse of rent flesh;
Seen the fingers of Time
Unite it afresh.
I have heard a man’s cry
As the teeth of the mill
Bit marrow and bone—
To hurt, not to kill.

Oh, strong is the flesh
To cure and defend:
’Tis but the stopt heart
That Time cannot mend.