 | The poetical works of Lucy Larcom |  |
THE FIELD-SPARROW.
A bubble of music floats
The slope of the hillside over;
A little wandering sparrow's notes;
And the bloom of yarrow and clover,
And the smell of sweet-fern and the bayberry leaf,
On his ripple of song are stealing;
For he is a chartered thief,
The wealth of the fields revealing.
The slope of the hillside over;
A little wandering sparrow's notes;
And the bloom of yarrow and clover,
And the smell of sweet-fern and the bayberry leaf,
On his ripple of song are stealing;
For he is a chartered thief,
The wealth of the fields revealing.
One syllable, clear and soft
As a raindrop's silvery patter,
Or a tinkling fairy-bell, heard aloft,
In the midst of the merry chatter
Of robin and linnet and wren and jay,—
One syllable, oft repeated:
He has but a word to say,
And of that he will not be cheated.
As a raindrop's silvery patter,
Or a tinkling fairy-bell, heard aloft,
In the midst of the merry chatter
Of robin and linnet and wren and jay,—
One syllable, oft repeated:
He has but a word to say,
And of that he will not be cheated.
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The singer I have not seen;
But the song I arise and follow
The brown hills over, the pastures green,
And into the sunlit hollow.
With a joy that his life unto mine has lent,
I can feel my glad eyes glisten,
Though he hides in his happy tent,
While I stand outside, and listen.
But the song I arise and follow
The brown hills over, the pastures green,
And into the sunlit hollow.
With a joy that his life unto mine has lent,
I can feel my glad eyes glisten,
Though he hides in his happy tent,
While I stand outside, and listen.
This way would I also sing,
My dear little hillside neighbor!
A tender carol of peace to bring
To the sunburnt fields of labor
Is better than making a loud ado;
Trill on, amid clover and yarrow!
There 's a heart-beat echoing you,
And blessing you, blithe little sparrow!
My dear little hillside neighbor!
A tender carol of peace to bring
To the sunburnt fields of labor
Is better than making a loud ado;
Trill on, amid clover and yarrow!
There 's a heart-beat echoing you,
And blessing you, blithe little sparrow!
| The poetical works of Lucy Larcom | |