ODE FOR COMMONWEALTH DAY
13
And that sweet Harvester who twines
The tender vine and binds the sheaf,
And the young Western Queen, who mines
The desert reef,
And she, against whose flowery throne
And orchards green the wave is hurled–
Australia claims them; They are One
Before the World!
The tender vine and binds the sheaf,
And the young Western Queen, who mines
The desert reef,
And she, against whose flowery throne
And orchards green the wave is hurled–
Australia claims them; They are One
Before the World!
Crown Her–most worthy to be praised –
With eyes uplifted to the morn;
For on this day a flag is raised,
A triumph won, a nation born!
And Ye, vast Army of the Dead,
From mine and city, plain and sea,
Who fought and dared, who toiled and bled,
That this might be,
Draw round us in this hour of fate–
Here, where thy children's children stand
With unseen lips, O consecrate
And bless the land!
With eyes uplifted to the morn;
For on this day a flag is raised,
A triumph won, a nation born!
And Ye, vast Army of the Dead,
From mine and city, plain and sea,
Who fought and dared, who toiled and bled,
That this might be,
Draw round us in this hour of fate–
Here, where thy children's children stand
With unseen lips, O consecrate
And bless the land!
Eternal Power, benign, supreme,
Who weigh'st the nations upon earth;
Without whose aid the Empire dream,
And pride of states is nothing worth–
Who weigh'st the nations upon earth;
Without whose aid the Empire dream,
And pride of states is nothing worth–
