My Australia

The sight of a smoke blackened billy,<o:p></o:p>

Brown lined with the tannin of tea;<o:p></o:p>

Strong eucalypt smell of gum leaves,<o:p></o:p>

This is Australia to me.<o:p></o:p>

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Drumming of rain on galvanized roofs,<o:p></o:p>

The smell of parched earth when the rain                                                             First of the winter, pours down from the sky,<o:p></o:p>

Promise of grass in its train.<o:p></o:p>

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Out in the paddocks, barking of dogs,<o:p></o:p>

Half-hidden by dust as they muster<o:p></o:p>

Sheep in for the shearing, the lamb’s frantic cries,<o:p></o:p>

The ewes bleating wildly, a fluster.<o:p></o:p>

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The ripening of wheat in wide paddocks,<o:p></o:p>

The harvesters gleaning the grain.<o:p></o:p>

Heat, flies and wheat dust, hot cups of tea,<o:p></o:p>

Chugging of tractors again.<o:p></o:p>

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Stretches of sand with sun blazing down<o:p></o:p>

Bright sparkling blue of the sea.<o:p></o:p>

Lithe bodies oiled, and fast turning brown;<o:p></o:p>

These mean Australia to me.<o:p></o:p>

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I’ve wandered afar, beauty I’ve seen,<o:p></o:p>

But ever the call of the free,<o:p></o:p>

Wide-open spaces, sights, smells and sounds,<o:p></o:p>

Which means Australia to me.<o:p></o:p>

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