Poems and miscellanies selected from the writings of Miss Eliza Townsend Printed but not published |
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TO OUR JAVA SPARROWS. |
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 | Poems and miscellanies selected from the writings of Miss Eliza Townsend |  |
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TO OUR JAVA SPARROWS.
JANUARY, 1839.
Fair warblers from a summer clime,
Who bid'st with us in wint'ry time,
Though cold the soil on which we live,
Warm is the welcome that we give.
Who bid'st with us in wint'ry time,
Though cold the soil on which we live,
Warm is the welcome that we give.
Companions to our kinsman given,
Through boisterous days, and tempest driven,
And tossed through many a rougher night,
The feathered freight still kept aright,
Still followed in his billowy track,
Cheering the bark that brought him back,
And chirped and hopped the time away,
As blithe as on their native spray!
Through boisterous days, and tempest driven,
And tossed through many a rougher night,
The feathered freight still kept aright,
Still followed in his billowy track,
Cheering the bark that brought him back,
And chirped and hopped the time away,
As blithe as on their native spray!
But now, with frost encompassed round,
And captives on a foreign ground,
Far from their Java's spicy grove,
No more with early mates to rove;
Though freedom, country, clime be lost,
That sprightly carol is not crossed.
With Quaker coat, and beaver on,
And smooth white collar, neck upon,
And ruddy beak of healthiest hue,
Cheerful they meet my morning view,
And doffed the curtain from the day,
Quick hail'st it with their matin lay.
And captives on a foreign ground,
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No more with early mates to rove;
Though freedom, country, clime be lost,
That sprightly carol is not crossed.
With Quaker coat, and beaver on,
And smooth white collar, neck upon,
And ruddy beak of healthiest hue,
Cheerful they meet my morning view,
And doffed the curtain from the day,
Quick hail'st it with their matin lay.
Brave birds! ah, would that such as we
Meet lesson might have learned from ye!
Despite of change and season drear,
Still with unconquered note to cheer.
Pick each sweet seed, howe'er astray,
And cast the refuse husk away,
Sip the clear stream, where'er 'tis given,
And look up, thankfully, to Heaven!
Meet lesson might have learned from ye!
Despite of change and season drear,
Still with unconquered note to cheer.
Pick each sweet seed, howe'er astray,
And cast the refuse husk away,
Sip the clear stream, where'er 'tis given,
And look up, thankfully, to Heaven!
| Poems and miscellanies selected from the writings of Miss Eliza Townsend | |