Page:Poems Hoffman.djvu/300

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SWAN RIVER DAISIES

To thy banks, Australian River,
Thy frail flowers our fancies bring;
Gifts will whisper of the giver,
As the streamlet of the spring.

Far across the briny ocean
How our fancies flit along,
'Till they join thy river motion,
Mingle with thy river song.

Rest amid the grasses growing
In the shadows, green and rank;
Revel midst the daisies blowing
In the sunshine on thy bank.

While the swans, their proud necks arching,
And the shadows in their eyes,
Dream not of the desert's parching
Underneath those same blue skies.

Daisies on the artist's canvas,
Daisies in the poet's lay,
Daisies, they have left their impression
All along the dusty way.

They are trodden in the highway
By the busy, thoughtless throng,
They are gathered in the byway;
Woven into scene and song.

Dainty daisies of Australia
Springing from a royal line,
Each in blue or white regalia,
Spun from fibers, silken fine.

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