Poem – “The Broom at Taupo”

IN MEMORY
of
A Great Friend of Taupo
S. Percy Spiller
of
Napier Frivolity Minstrels

The Broom at Taupo

WHEN you take the road to Taupo, and travel many miles,
You leave behind all thought of care and gloom,
There’s a welcome waiting for you with firm handshakes and bright smiles,
But you’ll ne’er forget the glory of the broom.
The lake as clear as crystal, the three peaks snowy capped,
The Huka Falls with never ending boom,
The rapids madly dashing, with rainbow hues all flashing,
But you’ll ne’er forget the glory of the broom.

You must have seen it shining like a field of cloth of gold,
In springtime after early morning rain,
And the fragrance of it’s perfume wafted on the gentle breeze,
For ever in your mem’ry will remain.
And lone Tauhara standing in the middle of the plain,
Grim sentinel as silent as the tomb,
And as my thoughts they stray, I can almost hear him say,
“Oh, can’t you see the glory of the broom.”

I’ve seen the combers breaking on the beach at Waikiki,
And London Bridge majestic in the gloom,
The gondolas at Venice and the Great White Way, New York,
But my heart goes back to Taupo and the broom.
So no matter where I roam, there’s a place that calls me home,
And in my thoughts there’ll always be a room,
And my heart will miss a beat, when I turn and place my feet,
To Taupo, and the glory of the broom.

By S. PERCY SPILLER