Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, The

<h2> Over the Range </h2> <p>Little bush maiden, wondering-eyed,<br/> Playing alone in the creek-bed dry,<br/> In the small green flat on every side<br/> Walled in by the Moonbi ranges high;<br/> Tell us the tale of your lonely life,<br/> 'Mid the great grey forests that know no change.<br/> 'I never have left my home,' she said,<br/> 'I have never been over the Moonbi Range.<br/> <br/> 'Father and mother are both long dead,<br/> And I live with granny in yon wee place.'<br/> 'Where are your father and mother?' we said.<br/> She puzzled awhile with thoughtful face,<br/> Then a light came into the shy brown eye,<br/> And she smiled, for she thought the question strange<br/> On a thing so certain &mdash; 'When people die<br/> They go to the country over the range.'<br/> <br/> 'And what is this country like, my lass?'<br/> 'There are blossoming trees and pretty flowers,<br/> And shining creeks where the golden grass<br/> Is fresh and sweet from the summer showers.<br/> They never need work, nor want, nor weep;<br/> No troubles can come their hearts to estrange.<br/> Some summer night I shall fall asleep,<br/> And wake in the country over the range.'<br/> <br/> Child, you are wise in your simple trust,<br/> For the wisest man knows no more than you<br/> Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust:<br/> Our views by a range are bounded too;<br/> But we know that God hath this gift in store,<br/> That when we come to the final change,<br/> We shall meet with our loved ones gone before<br/> To the beautiful country over the range.<br/></p> <p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"></SPAN></p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />