THE SINGING GARDEN

The Wattle Bird

Where the blossom glows I follow,
      Sipping nectar as I go.
  Timbered hill and wooded hollow,
      Shore and scrub-land, these I know;
  Following the floral river
      Flowing down a scented land,
  Voyage I, where the Great Giver
      Strews His gifts on every hand.

Where my  honey-sipping cousins
      Fill the day with melody—
  Tho’ I count them in their dozens—
      Song, alas, is not for me.
  But, these meeker minstrels scorning,
      Rather am I prone to brag;
  To the chorus of the morning
      Shouting, “Quock! Up with the rag!”

These my  cousins, pert or gracious,
      Trim or tuneful, claim all man’s
  Admiration; I, pugnacious
      King of honey-eating clans,
  Ever bragging, ever brawling,
      Seem to flaunt the bully’s air;
  While my rough, discordant calling
      Matches ill my dainty fare.

Yet, by wooded hill and hollow,
      He, the Giver, knows full well—
  As His bounteous way I follow—
      All a grateful heart would tell.
  Where the floral stream, o’erflowing
      Banksia boughs and wattle banks,
  Spills its beauty, song not knowing,
      Pour I forth my raucous thanks.