"Well, what tidings today?" said the bee
To the burgeoning rose.
"You are young, yet already you see
Much of life, I suppose."
Said the rose, "Oh, this life is so filled
With astonishing things
That I think I could not be more thrilled
E'en if roses had wings.
Three lupins have bloomed by the pond
Since last you were here;
In the nest of the blue-wrens beyond
Three nestlings appear.
A gay butterfly slept by my side
All yesternight thro'
Till dawn, when a thrush hymned his pride.
But how goes it with you?"
"There are great things at hand," said the bee.
"Change comes to my life.
In my hive in the woollybutt tree
Strange rumors are rife.
The old queen grows restless, I fear,
She is planning to roam;
And I must adventure this year
From the old, safe home.
"Old Black Wallaby's limping, I see,
Trap again, I suppose.
Life is full of mischance," said the bee.
"Ah, no," sighed the rose.
"Despite all the folly and sin
And the gala and the strife,
It's a wonderful world we live in,
It's a wonderful life."
First published in The Herald, 30 November 1935
Author reference sites: C.J. Dennis, Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library
See also.
