 | Poems by Miss H. F. Gould |  |
174
THE ESCAPE OF THE DOVES.
Come back, pretty doves! O, come back from the tree,
You bright, little fugitive things!
We would not have thought you so ready and free
In using your beautiful wings.
You bright, little fugitive things!
We would not have thought you so ready and free
In using your beautiful wings.
We did not suppose, when we lifted the lid
To see if you knew how to fly,
You 'd all flutter off in a moment, and bid
The basket forever good by!
To see if you knew how to fly,
You 'd all flutter off in a moment, and bid
The basket forever good by!
Come down, and we'll feast you on insects and seeds;
You sha 'nt have occasion to roam—
We'll give you all things that a bird ever needs
To make it contented at home.
You sha 'nt have occasion to roam—
We'll give you all things that a bird ever needs
To make it contented at home.
Then come, pretty doves! O, return for our sakes,
And do n't keep away from us thus;
Or, when your old slumbering master awakes,
'T will be a sad moment for us!
And do n't keep away from us thus;
Or, when your old slumbering master awakes,
'T will be a sad moment for us!
“We can't!” said the birds, “and the basket may stand
A long time in waiting; for now
You find out too late, that a bird in the hand
Is worth, at least, two on the bough.
A long time in waiting; for now
You find out too late, that a bird in the hand
Is worth, at least, two on the bough.
175
“And we, from our height, looking down on you there,
By experience taught to be sage,
Find one pair of wings, that are free in the air,
Are worth two or three in the cage.
By experience taught to be sage,
Find one pair of wings, that are free in the air,
Are worth two or three in the cage.
“But, when our old master awakes, and shall find
The work you have just been about,
We hope, by the freedom we love, he 'll be kind,
And spare you for letting us out.
The work you have just been about,
We hope, by the freedom we love, he 'll be kind,
And spare you for letting us out.
“We thank you for all the fine stories you tell,
And all the good things you would give;
But think, since we 're out, we shall do very well
Where nature designed us to live.
And all the good things you would give;
But think, since we 're out, we shall do very well
Where nature designed us to live.
“Whenever you think of the swift little wings,
On which from your reach we have flown,
No doubt, you'll beware, and not meddle with things,
In future, that are not your own.”
On which from your reach we have flown,
No doubt, you'll beware, and not meddle with things,
In future, that are not your own.”
| Poems by Miss H. F. Gould | |