WHAT can we give in return For her beauty and mystery Of flowering forest, infinite plain, Deep sky and distant mountain-chain, And her triumphant sea, Thundering old songs of liberty? Love?steadfast as her stars, And passionate as her sun, And joyous as the winds, that fling The golden petals of her spring By gully, spur, and run, On dreaming age, and little one: Courage?when courage fails In the blind smoke and pain Of raging fire, and lurid sky, And dumb thirst-driven agony? Till river and creek again Swirl seaward through the teeming rain. Faith?wild flower of the soul, Thrilling the breathless night With fragrance, and the desolate ways Where silence fears to whisper praise, With radiant delight Of wonder?worship in God?s sight. Duty?O great white stars, And glorious red cross, shine On victory, when, rushing forth Against the peril of the North, Australia?s battle-line Flings out Trafalgar?s deathless sign.