The Filling of the Swamps
Hurrah for the storm-clouds sweeping!
Hurrah for the driving rain!
The dull earth out of her sleeping
Is wakened to life again.
There are mirrors of crystal shining
Whenever the cloud-wrack breaks,
And grass-clad banks are twining
A wreath for the fairy lakes - - -
Lakes that are links in an endless chain
For the water is out in the swamps again!
Hurrah for the red-gums standing
So high on the range above!
Hurrah for the she-oaks bending
So low to the wave they love!
Hurrah for the reed-stems slender!
Hurrah for the shade they fling,
For the curve of the cygnet’s splendour,
The sheen of the black duck’s wing!
Hurrah for the clouds and the glorious rain - - -
The water is out in the swamps again!
Hurrah for the laughing water,
The songs that the streamlets sing!
Whish! The teal duck’s mate has sought her
With a stroke of his mottled wing!
Hurrah for the deepening shadows,
The ibis’s eagle-eyed,
The dash of the purple swallows,
To bury their breasts in the tide!
Woe! It is woe to the Drought-King’s reign!
The water is out in the swamps again!
