Australia My Love

Australia My Love by David J Delaney is a celebration of the landscapes, wildlife and simple moments that make Australia unlike anywhere else on earth.

From misty valleys and crackling campfires to monsoon rains, outback roads and oceanside camps, David captures the sights, sounds and memories that many Australians know and love. It is a reminder that Australia’s greatest treasures are often found in its natural beauty and the quiet moments spent exploring it.

This poem is shared with David’s permission as part of Keeping The Verse Alive, Country Campfire’s project to preserve Australian bush poetry for future generations.

Australia My Love

by David J Delaney

I love the misty valleys as the Bellbirds start to ring,
the Lyrebird and Golden Whistler, as they begin to sing.
I love to watch a crackling campfire glow into the night,
then becoming hypnotised by the yellow plumes of light.

I love to roll my swag beside a running crystal creek,
while from behind an old gum tree, a Joey takes a peek.
I love to walk the forest tracks that seem to go forever,
and watch tree Kangaroos, they are really very clever.

I love while waking up to view a pinkish, purple sky,
while I listen to a riot of our Kookaburras cry.
I love the beauty of a red and yellow-orange sunset,
and Grey Stone Curlews hissing for they’re thinking I’m a threat.

I love the way our Butterflies can dance from leaf to leaf,
how a working dog can sigh when resting in relief.
I love our crested Cockatoos, with their noisy screeching ways,
and hear the black Crows mournful hark on scorching summer days.

I love to see the great Whales breach, out on the oceans swell,
or Dolphins bobbing up and down just like a carousel.
I love the way those Soldier crabs run sideways ‘cross the sand,
and the sound the gentle waves are making all across the strand.

I love the way the Willy Willys swirl the outback dust,
and to view great Uluṟu is definitely a must.
I love the heavy monsoon rains, when the season comes around,
then if a swirling cyclone forms, it’s time to bunker down.

I love the smell and freshness once the rains have gone away,
and all the birds and animals come out and start to play.
I love the way Cicadas bring the rainforest alive,
while tiny bush Bees now emerge, from the safety of their hive.

I love to view an Eagle riding thermals way up high,
and watch a giant Monitor, while it slowly walks on by.
I love our endless roadways one can travel all your life,
and camp beneath a sea of stars, far from the city’s strife.

I love the blues and whites and reds, from flowers way out west,
and the longest bluest sky above is simply just the best.
I love a Bluey puppy and the loving it can bring,
and listen to a favourite song that makes me want to sing.

I love to travel with my wife on outback roads and tracks,
or camp beside the ocean’s sound, then sit back and relax.
I love to have her with me when we’re travelling a mile,
for I couldn’t go a day without her lovely warming smile.

Keeping The Verse Alive

Australia My Love is published with permission from David J Delaney as part of Keeping The Verse Alive, Country Campfire’s bush poetry preservation project.

You can discover more of David’s poetry, books and Country Campfire features on his Country Campfire contributor page →

Poems, recitals, photographs, stories and original works remain the property of their original creator and are shared by Country Campfire with permission.