The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti A variorum edition: Edited, with textual notes and introductions, by R. W. Crump |
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 | The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti |  |
BIRD OR BEAST?
Did any bird come flying
After Adam and Eve,
When the door was shut against them
And they sat down to grieve?
After Adam and Eve,
When the door was shut against them
And they sat down to grieve?
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I think not Eve's peacock
Splendid to see,
And I think not Adam's eagle;
But a dove may be.
Splendid to see,
And I think not Adam's eagle;
But a dove may be.
Did any beast come pushing
Thro' the thorny hedge
Into the thorny thistly world
Out from Eden's edge?
Thro' the thorny hedge
Into the thorny thistly world
Out from Eden's edge?
I think not a lion
Tho' his strength is such;
But an innocent loving lamb
May have done as much.
Tho' his strength is such;
But an innocent loving lamb
May have done as much.
If the dove preached from her bough
And the lamb from his sod,
The lamb and the dove
Were preachers sent from God.
And the lamb from his sod,
The lamb and the dove
Were preachers sent from God.
| The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti | |