Maroon and orange, scarlet, crimson-dyed,
Triumphant blades that part the teeming soil,
Rearing a splendid pageantry of pride,
They guard the jealous season's hoarded spoil!
Summer has kept them warm and burnished bright --
her mark is carven deep upon each hilt --
Gushing from out her breasts, wind-hollowed, white,
Her scarlet blood upon each tip is spilt.
A braggart bodyguard, they stiffly stand,
Flanked by garden's tarnished finery,
Flaunting their livingness, a gorgeous band,
Long after Summer's reign has ceased to be.
First published in The Australian Woman's Mirror, 4 March 1930
