A SONG OF THE SOUTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2408, 26 April 1900, Page 50

A SONG OF THE SOUTH ISLAND.

Oh, Te Wai Pounamu, Long isle of the sea, Wherever I wander, My heart turns to thee. How grand are thy mountains! How fertile thy plains! Where thy rivers, like fountains^ Spring forth after rain, I love thy greea forest, So shady and cool, With its trees over-arching Above^ the clear pool; Long leaves of. the fern, tree Hang gracefully there, And the breath of the greenwood 1 Perfumes the still air. / From the brink of the stream^ Looking tip, I espy The glossy-necked tui Against the clear sky — And to me all, the sounda Of the forest are mute While I listen, entranced, To his musical flute. Then the moki's sweet jiota Peals .out like .a belU Ec-echoed and answered All over the dell — And I feel as I listen jSTo birds of the air With them, oh, Te Wai PountsSfo Can compare. These are thy soft glories Te Wai Pounanra, But what of thy mountain, That pierces the blue? Thy lakes deep and wide, And thy wondrous cascade, With its .waters rock-torn, In bright rainbow arrayed ?i To westward, thy. sounds^ . . Unfathprned and deep, '.Where the shadows lie black Prom the high rocky peals* My heart fills with pride, As thy wonders I view, -• Dear land of my birth t --' Te Wai Pounainu %