<i>The Lapse of Mother Yarra</i> by C.J. Dennis

All year thro' old Yarra flows

Ever seaward going,

With her air of prim repose,

What she thinks of, goodness knows!

But she keeps on flowing

Till, one day in each drab year,

Lo! a miracle is here.

Then old Yarra so precise,

Trim and very proper;

Scorning all the sane advice

Of the scrupulously nice,

Comes a social cropper;

Flinging sober thought away

Mother Yarra has her day.

As the wattle in the Spring

Breaks to efflorescence,

With a sudden burgeoning,

So old Yarra has her fling,

Aping adolescence;

Gets quite glad and gay and bright

For a day and half a night.

Colors sparkle in the sun

Shouts of careless laughter

Tell of unrestricted fun

Till the carnival is done.

If remorse comes after

I am not prepared to say -

Mother Yarra had her day!

First published in The Herald, 28 November 1931

Author reference sites: C.J. Dennis, Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library

The Lapse of Mother Yarra by C.J. Dennis