Australia

An island continent down under too grand to just ignore,

A land of coastal water where sandy beaches line the shore,

Rugged range and dusty plain colliding with each other,

A land of inspiring contrast nature took its time to cover.

Green canopy of Kurrajong Tree provide jackaroos with their shade,

As they do battle with the outback where the stockmen’s legends made,

The cattle and the sheep will graze where the soil meets their needs,

But crippling droughts can catch them out as farmers plant their seeds.

Orchardists with their crops of fruit look skyward for a drink,

While sugar-cane on coastal plain provides our sweetest link,

Golden corn and ears of wheat dance round in yellow field,

The farmer working dawn to dusk to reap his vital yield.

Fire and flood can cause such havoc; there’s a harshness in our land,

But strength of character carries us through and neighbours lend a hand,

Koalas eat their gum leaves, kangaroos shy from where they’ve been,

Kookaburras laugh their loudest as platypus dips into the stream.

Gallipoli and Anzacs create fervour in our mind,

These brave young hearts that gave their lives, too many left behind,

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, Uluru and Barrier Reef,

All provide us with our identity, our icons and belief.

© John Williams