Larry's Gallery:   Satin Bowerbird (1/4)

PASSERIFORMES: Ptilonorhynchidae

Ptilonorhynchus violaceus  

The Satin Bower Bird

SPARE a bloom of blue, lady,
To adorn a bower.
A violet will do, lady--
Any azure flower.
Since we hold a dance to-day,
We would make our ball-room gay,
Where the scented grasses sway,
And the tall trees tower.

Beautiful but shy, lady,
Yesterday we came
Dropping from the sky, lady,
Flecks of golden flame--
Golden flame and royal blue--
We have come to beg of you
Any scrap of heaven's hue
For our dancing game.

Spare us but a leaf, lady,
If our suit be spurned
We shall play the thief, lady,
When your back is turned;
Ravishing your garden plot
Of the choicest you have got--
Pansy or forget-me-not--
Counting it well earned.

Then, if some rare chance, lady,
Later should befall.
And you gain a glance, lady,
At our dancing hall,
You will find your blossoms there
'Mid our decorations where,
With a proud, patrician air,
We hold the Bushland Ball.

The Satin Bower Bird
by C J Dennis (1876-1938)
The Singing Garden (1935) p.167.