"An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow" was written by the Australian poet Les Murray in 1969. The poem is set amidst the hustle and bustle of 1960s Sydney, which momentarily grinds to a halt due to the presence of a man openly weeping in a main square. The inhabitants of Sydney are by turns fascinated, moved, and appalled by the crying man. The man, for his part, is an ambiguous figure—someone who on the one hand seems like a kind of prophet or Christ-like savior, but on the other seems to be exactly what he looks like: a person crying, who doesn't have any "words" or "messages" to offer the onlookers. Above all, he seems to represent the ability to deeply feel and openly express emotion—something that the poem implies has been stifled by the busy modern world.
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The word goes ...
... can't stop him.
The traffic in ...
... can stop him.
The man we ...
... sob very loudly—
yet the dignity ...
... pentagram of sorrow,
and uniforms back ...
... for a rainbow.
Some will say, ...
... have been there.
The fiercest manhood, ...
... judgements of peace.
Some in the ...
... and dusty pigeons.
Ridiculous, says a ...
... gift of weeping;
as many as ...
... weeps ignores us,
and cries out ...
... as the sea—
and when he ...
... down Pitt Street.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
More Poems by Murray — A generous collection of Murray's poem on his own website.
Murray's Life and Work — An informative article about Murray produced by the Guardian after his death.
A Reading of the Poem — The poem read by Thomas Keneally for an album of Australia poetry.
Murray and His Influences — The poet in discussion about his own work and the works of others that were important to him.
Murray Reads from His Own Work — A selection of poems read by the poet himself.