Page:An anthology of Australian verse (IA anthologyofaustr00stev).pdf/91

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A MAORI GIRL’S SONG

On Arapá I’ll launch my skiff, and soon be borne away From all that feeds this feeling—O, this fond, sweet pain!
“I’ll go and see dear Rima—she’ll welcome me, I know,And a flaxen cloak—her gayest—o’er my weary shoulders throw,With purfle red and points so free—O, quite a lovely show— To charm away this feeling—O, this sad, sweet pain!
“Two feathers I will borrow, and so gracefully I’ll wearTwo feathers soft and snowy, for my long, black, lustrous hair.Of the albatross’s down they’ll be—O, how charming they’ll look there— All to chase away this feeling—O, this fond, sweet pain!
“Then the lads will flock around me with flattering talk all day—And, with anxious little pinches, sly hints of love convey;And I shall blush with happy pride to hear them, I daresay, And quite forget this feeling—O, this sad, sweet pain!”

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