 | Miami Woods : a golden wedding and other poems |  |
183
Conservatism.
The Owl, he fareth well
In the shadows of the night;
And it puzzleth him to tell
Why the Eagle loves the light.
In the shadows of the night;
And it puzzleth him to tell
Why the Eagle loves the light.
Away he floats—away,
From the forest dim and old,
Where he pass'd the gairish day:—
The night doth make him bold!
From the forest dim and old,
Where he pass'd the gairish day:—
The night doth make him bold!
The wave of his downy wing,
As he courses round about,
Disturbs no sleeping thing
That he findeth in his route.
As he courses round about,
Disturbs no sleeping thing
That he findeth in his route.
The moon looks o'er the hill,
And the vale grows softly light;
And the cock, with greeting shrill,
Wakes the echoes of the night.
And the vale grows softly light;
And the cock, with greeting shrill,
Wakes the echoes of the night.
But the moon—he knoweth well
Its old familiar face;
And the cock—it doth but tell,
Poor fool! its resting place.
Its old familiar face;
And the cock—it doth but tell,
Poor fool! its resting place.
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And as still as the spirit of Death
On the air his pinions play;—
There 's not the noise of a breath
As he grapples with his prey.
On the air his pinions play;—
There 's not the noise of a breath
As he grapples with his prey.
Oh, the shadowy Night for him!
It bringeth him fare and glee;
And what cares he how dim
For the Eagle it may be?
It bringeth him fare and glee;
And what cares he how dim
For the Eagle it may be?
It clothes him from the cold,
It keeps his larders full;
And he loves the darkness old,
To the Eagle all so dull.
It keeps his larders full;
And he loves the darkness old,
To the Eagle all so dull.
But the dawn is in the East—
And the shadows disappear;
And at once his timid breast
Feels the presence of a fear.
And the shadows disappear;
And at once his timid breast
Feels the presence of a fear.
He resists;—but all in vain!
The clear Light is not for him;
So he hastens back again
To the forest old and dim.
The clear Light is not for him;
So he hastens back again
To the forest old and dim.
Through his head strange fancies run;
For he can not comprehend
Why the moon, and then the sun,
Up the heavens should ascend,—
For he can not comprehend
Why the moon, and then the sun,
Up the heavens should ascend,—
185
When the old and quiet Night,
With its shadows dark and deep,
And the half-revealing light
Of its stars, he 'd ever keep.
With its shadows dark and deep,
And the half-revealing light
Of its stars, he 'd ever keep.
And he hooteth loud and long:—
But the Eagle greets the day,
And, on pinions bold and strong,
Like a roused Thought, sweeps away!
But the Eagle greets the day,
And, on pinions bold and strong,
Like a roused Thought, sweeps away!
| Miami Woods : a golden wedding and other poems | |