from Camellia Annual No. 2 – December 1955
The Camellia
Midst the wilds of earth’s mightiest mountains,
On the heights of the stern Himaleh –
Nursed with streams of the snowy fed fountains,
Which roll down to farthest Cathay;
I was born in time’s dim dewy morning,
When the angels came down upon earth,
All its bosom with blossoms adorning,
As they baptised my beautiful birth –
Breathing loveliness queenly as tender
In my breast are my budlets unfurled –
Till I blossomed in virginal splendour,
A queen of the blooms of the world.
(The above verse is from The Song of the Stars,
by Alpha Cruces (Robert Dudley Adams – Australian) Sydney, 1882.)