The Wattle by Henry Lawson — Read

No Better Right Than I

I SAW it in the days gone by, / When the dead girl lay at rest, / And the wattle and the native rose / We placed upon her breast.

I saw it in the long ago / (And I've seen strong men die), / And who, to wear the wattle, / Hath better right than I?

I've fought it through the world since then, / And seen the best and worst, / But always in the lands of men / I held Australia first.

I wrote for her, I fought for her, / And when at last I lie, / Then who, to wear the wattle, has / A better right than I?