Softly and sweetly Melanie Is sleeping in the camping tent; She looks delightful, peaceful, free What more can anyone demand? Her hair soft grass, her breath a breeze, Each gentle movement of her chest A way to stars, a way to seas, Another place for birds to nest; The birds that chirp by gushing brook And in the gum tree canopies; But there's no place I'd rather look Than at my darling Melanie As she sleeps softly next to me Delight of body and of mind My darling, darling Melanie! My love, my star, my friend, my bride! https://sites.google.com/site/ibshambatpoetry
A moments joy Frozen in time With the stroke of an artists brush of iron-hard men at the Coleman Still during the great gold rush John Avants (my deceased cousin)