A Night In July Poem by Francis Duggan

The magpie's voice is echoing in the moonlit Winter sky
And the weather wet though pleasant for the first week of July
And the birth of Spring draws nearer with every passing day
Across the World towards the southern shore Goddess of Spring is on her way,
The magpies always sing at night at this time of the year
And in the flooded ponds and drains the breeding frogs one hear
And the spur winged plovers calling in the paddock nearby
When the hunting fox is passing near they call out as they fly,
The shy ringtail possums are calling on the moonlit trees
And the cold nip of Winter is in the freshening breeze
It may be the depths of Winter but the good days are ahead
And soon parent birds will be busy with hungry babies to be fed
And Goddess of Spring is on her way to the southern hemisphere
And every dawn on the southern shore sees her one day more near.