An Anthology of Australian Verse/A Song of Sydney

High headlands all jealously hide thee,
 * O fairest of sea-girdled towns!

Thine Ocean-spouse smileth beside thee,
 * While each headland threatens and frowns.

Like Venice, upheld on sea-pinion,
 * And fated to reign o'er the free,

Thou wearest, in sign of dominion,
 * The zone of the sea.

No winter thy fertile slope hardens,
 * O new Florence, set in the South!

All lands give their flowers to thy gardens,
 * That glow to thy bright harbour's mouth;

The waratah and England's red roses
 * With stately magnolias entwine,

Gay sunflowers fill sea-scented closes,
 * All sweet with woodbine.

Thy harbour's fair flower-crowned islands
 * See flags of all countries unfurled,

Thou smilest from green, sunlit highlands
 * To open thine arms to the world!

Dark East's and fair West's emulations
 * Resound from each hill-shadowed quay,

And over the songs of all nations,
 * The voice of the sea.