 | Poems |  |
THE SNOW-FILLED NEST.
It swings upon the leafless tree,
By stormy winds blown to and fro;
Deserted, lonely, sad to see,
And full of cruel snow.
By stormy winds blown to and fro;
Deserted, lonely, sad to see,
And full of cruel snow.
In summer's noon the leaves above
Made dewy shelter from the heat;
The nest was full of life and love;—
Ah, life and love are sweet!
Made dewy shelter from the heat;
The nest was full of life and love;—
Ah, life and love are sweet!
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The tender brooding of the day,
The silent, peaceful dreams of night,
The joys that patience overpay,
The cry of young delight,
The silent, peaceful dreams of night,
The joys that patience overpay,
The cry of young delight,
The song that through the branches rings,
The nestling crowd with eager eyes,
The flutter soft of untried wings,
The flight of glad surprise:—
The nestling crowd with eager eyes,
The flutter soft of untried wings,
The flight of glad surprise:—
All, all are gone! I know not where;
And still upon the cold gray tree,
Lonely, and tossed by every air,
That snow-filled nest I see.
And still upon the cold gray tree,
Lonely, and tossed by every air,
That snow-filled nest I see.
I, too, had once a place of rest,
Where life, and love, and peace were mine—
Even as the wild-birds build their nest,
When skies and summer shine.
Where life, and love, and peace were mine—
Even as the wild-birds build their nest,
When skies and summer shine.
But winter came, the leaves were dead;
The mother-bird was first to go,
The nestlings from my sight have fled;
The nest is full of snow.
The mother-bird was first to go,
The nestlings from my sight have fled;
The nest is full of snow.
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