O to be a Tulip-Bear
Atop a munchful gum,
With summer wattle in my hair
And breeze upon my tum.
O to hear the cicadas buzz
And in a treetop doze,
With gum-sap dropping in my fuzz
And sticking ’tween my toes.
O for strong ’calyptus milk
To bring the visions up,
With wattle-dew to oil my silk
And gum-dreams in my cup.
O to see the banksias jump,
To hear the gum-nuts sneeze,
To see a fellow sleepy hump
Swaying above the trees.
O to be a Tulip-Bear,
You may think it’s just a poem,
But it is a thing so very dear
To a bear this far from home.
1977