 | The poetical works of William H. C. Hosmer |  |
269
POET AND SNOW-BIRD.
Happy bird! with plumage gay,
Whither away? whither away?
Snow is on the landscape drear—
Why with song the desert cheer?
Feathered lyres like thee beseem
Vernal bower, and running stream;
Green upon the meadows' breast,
Arching sky in azure drest.
Whither away? whither away?
Snow is on the landscape drear—
Why with song the desert cheer?
Feathered lyres like thee beseem
Vernal bower, and running stream;
Green upon the meadows' breast,
Arching sky in azure drest.
BIRD.
When the cheek of Earth is cold,
Winter's banner pale unrolled,
From my trackless home I fly,
Over which hangs mystery,
Man to tell of brighter days
Coming to delight his gaze;
With my carol, in his heart,
Wake contentment and depart.
Winter's banner pale unrolled,
From my trackless home I fly,
Over which hangs mystery,
Man to tell of brighter days
Coming to delight his gaze;
With my carol, in his heart,
Wake contentment and depart.
POET.
Bird! thou art a type of those
Prophets in our vale of woes,
Who, in thrilling tones, declare
That man's future will be fair—
That a morn, at last, will dawn
When, aside the curtain drawn,
He will mark, oh! scene sublime!
Death of woe, and fall of crime;
Human hearts of hate devoid—
Wintry selfishness destroyed;
Love, with summer brightness zoned—
Peace, a conqueror, enthroned.
Prophets in our vale of woes,
Who, in thrilling tones, declare
That man's future will be fair—
That a morn, at last, will dawn
When, aside the curtain drawn,
He will mark, oh! scene sublime!
Death of woe, and fall of crime;
Human hearts of hate devoid—
Wintry selfishness destroyed;
Love, with summer brightness zoned—
Peace, a conqueror, enthroned.
| The poetical works of William H. C. Hosmer | |