Room for the heart to breathe, Land down under,

Clear skies and cloudy ones teasing your days.

Space for a child to breathe out among the gum trees

Hope, for an anxious heart, of brand new ways.

Get to know Australia.  Get to know her people.

We are now your family, strange though we are.

Think you know English?  Now try Australian –

Broad as our acres and from English very far.

O is the end of the shortened form of everything.

Good-o means a good plan, and arvo afternoon

An ambo drives an ambulance while a servo serves you petrol.

The journo short for journalist, but veg out - lying down.

The copper’s the policeman who keeps watch on our safety

But if you do the wrong thing then you “cop” a hefty fine.

They’ll invite you to a barbie – that’s a barbecue in English,

With spuds (potatoes), snags (that’s sausage), vino – Greek for wine.

Roos (that’s kangaroos) loose in the top paddock ?  The brain’s not running right.

The lights are on but no-one’s home – the same.

Mad as a cut snake – that’s the term for angry.

Sus is for suspicious,  Cactus - worn out, play our game.

Woop woop, in the never never, or way beyond the black stump-

All of those mean ever so far, far away.

But when they say “Fair dinkum” you had better think again.

They could mean ridgy didge (that’s right) or “got ya” tricked today.

So you want to be Australian. Well

You’ve made a real good start,

Migrating like the rest of us

to the curious Land Down Under.

Aussies give a hard time just to test your reaction.

It’s an old bush custom sorting out

The true blue from the smarty pants.

The Greeks arrived and felt the pinch

The Aussies were a burly bunch.

The Wogs (Greeks) put on a tv show

Called Wogs at Work- hilarious.

We laughed until our sides were split,

We loved them then forever more

Cause they were stars and made our day.

The best way to Australian hearts,

The way to “touch our funny bone”

Is just to be the way you are

You’re beautiful,  You’re so much fun.

You’re soooo Australian!

Grandmother, teacher, bushlover, horse-lover, gardener, poet , stirrer and passionate person, especially about Jesus.