 | Lyrics by John B Tabb |  |
95
AN AUTUMN LEAF.
A nursling of the under-green,
A tethered wing I poised between
A heaven above and heaven below—
Twin Sisters, mirrored in the glow
Of limpid waters—where the breeze,
Blind comrade of the listening trees,
Came wakening with soft caress
The shadows dumb and motionless.
A tethered wing I poised between
A heaven above and heaven below—
Twin Sisters, mirrored in the glow
Of limpid waters—where the breeze,
Blind comrade of the listening trees,
Came wakening with soft caress
The shadows dumb and motionless.
There once, at summer's close, a flame
Of fire and song, a Redbird came,
And, perched upon my parent limb,
Outpoured his soul. From joy abrim,
The bubbling vintage of his brain,
I quaffed, the while each fibre-vein,
Deep-reddening with emotion, stirred.
Alas! he heeded not nor heard!
But when he ceased, and flew away,
A panting prisoner I lay,
Close-fettered, till the kindred fire
Of frost lit up the autumn pyre:
Then, suddenly, the tidal swell
Of sap receded, and I fell.
Of fire and song, a Redbird came,
And, perched upon my parent limb,
Outpoured his soul. From joy abrim,
The bubbling vintage of his brain,
I quaffed, the while each fibre-vein,
Deep-reddening with emotion, stirred.
Alas! he heeded not nor heard!
But when he ceased, and flew away,
A panting prisoner I lay,
Close-fettered, till the kindred fire
Of frost lit up the autumn pyre:
Then, suddenly, the tidal swell
Of sap receded, and I fell.
| Lyrics by John B Tabb | |