Dry Old Castlemaine Poem by Francis Duggan

The Winters dry and chilly and very little rain
And the Summers warm and windy in dry old Castlemaine
In the bare and brown paddock the windblown dust is flying around
And the thirsty one el nino sucks all moisture from the ground,
The warm lamp of the Summer sun is burning in the sky
And high above the brown landscape the welcome swallows fly
On a warm day in December close to thirty degrees
And the warm air full of the buzzings of the small bush flies and bees,
Since the commencement of weather records the driest ever year
And the farmers crying out for rain but rain seems nowhere near
To bare and dry old Castlemaine five days from Christmas day
And prayers not bringing the needed rain though many for rain do pray
And dust is flying in the wind and pollen from the flowering trees
Does get into your nostrils and causes you to sneeze.