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 | The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") |  |
BONNIBEL.
A bird within the parent nest
I caught, and took it to my breast;
I bought for it a cage of gold,
Splendid, indeed, but bare and cold;
I fed this dainty bird of mine
With wheaten biscuit sopped in wine;
This captive bird, which had been free,
I chirped to it, and it to me;
But, with its master by its side,
It drooped its little wings and died.
It was not well—it was not well;
She was the bird, my Bonnibel.
I caught, and took it to my breast;
I bought for it a cage of gold,
Splendid, indeed, but bare and cold;
I fed this dainty bird of mine
With wheaten biscuit sopped in wine;
This captive bird, which had been free,
I chirped to it, and it to me;
342
It drooped its little wings and died.
It was not well—it was not well;
She was the bird, my Bonnibel.
Her home was in the woodland wild,
Where all around in freedom smiled;
There skies were free of clouds; the breeze
Blew chainlessly among the trees;
Without confine the yellow deer
Browsed round about, and knew no fear;
The brook ran freely through the glen;
Her life was all unfettered when
I brought her, through mad love of mine,
Here to the city's close confine,
So much unlike her native dell—
I wronged her sorely, Bonnibel.
Where all around in freedom smiled;
There skies were free of clouds; the breeze
Blew chainlessly among the trees;
Without confine the yellow deer
Browsed round about, and knew no fear;
The brook ran freely through the glen;
Her life was all unfettered when
I brought her, through mad love of mine,
Here to the city's close confine,
So much unlike her native dell—
I wronged her sorely, Bonnibel.
She missed the lowing of the herds,
The bleat of flocks and trill of birds;
The sighing of the summer breeze,
Voices of night amid the trees;
The cricket's chirp, the plover's call,
And moaning of the waterfall;
A wilding bee, she could not thrive
Here in the city's crowded hive;
Even my love could not suffice,
With all its glamour o'er her eyes;
And sad the fate which thus befell
Her sweet young life, my Bonnibel.
The bleat of flocks and trill of birds;
The sighing of the summer breeze,
Voices of night amid the trees;
The cricket's chirp, the plover's call,
And moaning of the waterfall;
A wilding bee, she could not thrive
Here in the city's crowded hive;
Even my love could not suffice,
With all its glamour o'er her eyes;
And sad the fate which thus befell
Her sweet young life, my Bonnibel.
With all her spirit's longing pain,
Nor words nor glances made complain;
And, wasting slowly all the while,
Her face was radiant in its smile;
Her cheery voice was low and sweet,
As though all gladness were complete;
Yet, as her cheeks grew wan and pale,
And lost my tender words avail,
There came a voice my soul within,
Reproaching me in accents thin;
My spirit heard its utterance well,
And ached to hear it, Bonnibel.
Nor words nor glances made complain;
And, wasting slowly all the while,
Her face was radiant in its smile;
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As though all gladness were complete;
Yet, as her cheeks grew wan and pale,
And lost my tender words avail,
There came a voice my soul within,
Reproaching me in accents thin;
My spirit heard its utterance well,
And ached to hear it, Bonnibel.
It is not meet the pallid form
Which once embraced a heart so warm,
Should in a city churchyard lie
With greed and pleasure passing by.
Hers be the fresh and kindly earth
Within the valley of her birth,
To lowly lie and take her rest,
Asleep, the babe upon her breast;
While he, who loved her, shall remain,
Bound ever by his heavy chain,
Till he shall bid the world farewell,
And sleep beside you, Bonnibel.
Which once embraced a heart so warm,
Should in a city churchyard lie
With greed and pleasure passing by.
Hers be the fresh and kindly earth
Within the valley of her birth,
To lowly lie and take her rest,
Asleep, the babe upon her breast;
While he, who loved her, shall remain,
Bound ever by his heavy chain,
Till he shall bid the world farewell,
And sleep beside you, Bonnibel.
| The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") | |