WHY EVER GO ABROAD . . .

We've got eucalypts, wattles, unique wildflowers,
deserts and endless plains, panoramic horizons,
nature's beauty and starkness, contrasts overpower
floods, droughts, fires sometimes the landscape scar
sprawling cities, towns far flung, loneliness, isolation,
salt lakes, rainforests at ocean shore, history, folklore,
struggles to farm the land, ingenious innovations,
land of Aboriginal myth, mysterious rock paintings
where seemingly ever none or tranquil rivers flow,
unleashing their destructive powers when in flood,
where majestic eucalypts and river gums grow,
mangroves, tangled roots, smelly bottomless mud
there is mining of opals, emeralds, iron ore, lead, zinc
copper, gold, manganese, our technology and science
is up there with the world's best, diamonds and oil,
in times of world conflicts surely have passed the test,
to many nationalities we are a land of milk and honey,
temperate climates, can follow sunshine all year round,
social security, governments freely handing out money,
no passport needed wherever in this Australia you go,
land of the emu, kangaroo, kookaburra, crocodiles,
brumbies, galahs, rabbits, brolga, cane toad, yabbies,
billabongs, Southern Cross in sky on cloudless nights,
comfortable lifestyle, carry a swag if you like and roam,
having all this, why wouldn't you call it Home, sweet Home.