 | Sketches of Natural History |  |
43
THE BIRD OF PARADISE.
O lovely Bird of Paradise,
I'll go where thou dost go!
Rise higher yet, and higher yet,
For a stormy wind doth blow.
I'll go where thou dost go!
Rise higher yet, and higher yet,
For a stormy wind doth blow.
Now up above the tempest
We are sailing in the calm,
Amid the golden sunshine,
And where the air is balm.
We are sailing in the calm,
Amid the golden sunshine,
And where the air is balm.
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See, far below us rolling
The storm-cloud black and wide;
The fury of its raging
Is as an angry tide!
The storm-cloud black and wide;
The fury of its raging
Is as an angry tide!
O gentle Bird of Paradise,
Thy happy lot I'll share;
And go where'er thou goest
On, through the sunny air!
Thy happy lot I'll share;
And go where'er thou goest
On, through the sunny air!
Whate'er the food thou eatest
Bird, I will eat it too,
And ere it reach the stormy earth,
Will drink with thee the dew!
Bird, I will eat it too,
And ere it reach the stormy earth,
Will drink with thee the dew!
My father and my mother,
I'll leave them for thy sake;
And where thy nest is builded,
My pleasant home will make!
I'll leave them for thy sake;
And where thy nest is builded,
My pleasant home will make!
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Is it woven of the sunshine,
And the fragrance of the spice;
And cradled round with happiness?
Sweet Bird of Paradise!
And the fragrance of the spice;
And cradled round with happiness?
Sweet Bird of Paradise!
O take me, take me to it,
Wherever it may be,
For far into the sunshine
I'll fly away with thee!
Wherever it may be,
For far into the sunshine
I'll fly away with thee!
Thus sung an Eastern poet,
A many years ago;
Now, of the Bird of Paradise
A truer tale we know.
A many years ago;
Now, of the Bird of Paradise
A truer tale we know.
We know the nest it buildeth
Within the forest green;
And many and many a traveller
Its very eggs hath seen.
Within the forest green;
And many and many a traveller
Its very eggs hath seen.
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Yet, lovely Bird of Paradise,
They take no charm from thee;
Thou art a creature of the earth,
And not a mystery!
They take no charm from thee;
Thou art a creature of the earth,
And not a mystery!
| Sketches of Natural History | |