A SONG OF AUSTRALIA.
Sing, sing of Australia whose golden clime
Hath the Eucalyptus and odorous Lime,
The emblem of freedom for chaplet fair,
And pearls and opals to bind her hair,
Lo! softly Aurora her beams hath shed
In crimson shafts o’er her ocean bed.
Daughter of Helios, whose azure eyes
Reflect the rays of the Southern skies.
Sing the feathery Palm, her fan so gay,
While jewell’d isles with her fingers play;
Sing her flocks and herds of the glowing West,
And the olives and vines of her hills’ green crest,
Sing her silver rivers and yellow gold,
And the glorious Wattle whose buds unfold
A wealth of beauty ’neath sun and shower,
Fit for a queen in royal bower.
Sing her flashing falls, and her rillets flow,
As in the ages long, long ago,
When in embryo she stately lay
Waiting the dawn of her natal day.
Sing of her morn which hath come at last
Though perchance she will shiver before the blast;
But the storm must come and the clarion call
Will resound from her Eastern to Western wall.
Sing of her peerless youth so free
As she beareth the lamp of Liberty
With a proud high look, and a sensitive ear
Fill’d with expectant hope and fear.
Sing of her prestige exalted and pure
In the hearts of her patriots ever secure,
The Midas of Empires, resplendent and brave
In magnificence reigns, the queen of the wave.
TO A CHILD.
I will paint thee as thou art;
Summers two have left their trace
On thy features, and thy heart
Hath its reflex in thy face.
Hair of gold thy brow doth crown;
Eyes like sparkling jewels two,
For no evil yet hath thrown
Shadows o’er those wells of blue.
Little hands our face caress,
Tiny pinken earshells two,
Sweetest smiling lips that press
Drops of limpid fairy dew.
When in slumber thou dost lie,
Even in thy baby dreams,
Angels weave a lullaby
To the murmur of the streams.