In Cornwall and Across the Sea With Poems Written in Devonshire. By Douglas B. W. Sladen |
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THE EXILE'S RETURN. |
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 | In Cornwall and Across the Sea |  |
185
THE EXILE'S RETURN.
Once more he stood in the home of his childhood;
Once more he walked 'mid the chestnuts and limes;
The trees were as green in the glory of springtide;
The house was the same, yet 'twas not like old times;
For he was but a guest where he had been a son,
And the home of his childhood for ever had gone.
Once more he walked 'mid the chestnuts and limes;
The trees were as green in the glory of springtide;
The house was the same, yet 'twas not like old times;
For he was but a guest where he had been a son,
And the home of his childhood for ever had gone.
His parents were there, and more tender than ever;
But the brothers and sisters, with whom he had played,
Had been fledged and had taken their mates and had flitted,
And the one who behind in the nest had still stayed
Was the child of his parents' old age, just the one
Who had not with him from his childhood upgrown.
But the brothers and sisters, with whom he had played,
Had been fledged and had taken their mates and had flitted,
And the one who behind in the nest had still stayed
Was the child of his parents' old age, just the one
Who had not with him from his childhood upgrown.
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And he learned the sad truth that when once the fledged nestling
Has forsaken its place in the nest, it grows cold,
Though the parents be warm, and however he presses
It never will have the same glow as of old,
And the bird who has once made a nest of his own
Can never go back to the nest he has known.
Has forsaken its place in the nest, it grows cold,
Though the parents be warm, and however he presses
It never will have the same glow as of old,
And the bird who has once made a nest of his own
Can never go back to the nest he has known.
O nestling forsake not the nest of your parents!
O nestling be slow to be fledged and to fly!
'Tis so easy for brothers and sisters to scatter,
For parents and children to sever their tie;
And the nestful, once broken, can never be one
In the way which it was ere the breaking was done.
O nestling be slow to be fledged and to fly!
'Tis so easy for brothers and sisters to scatter,
For parents and children to sever their tie;
And the nestful, once broken, can never be one
In the way which it was ere the breaking was done.
The limes, while they live, will be green in the springtide;
The chestnuts will blossom in April and May;
But children, who once leave their homes, will return not,
Or, if they return, it will not be to play
And to nestle together; it is not their own,
But the home of their parents when once they have flown.
The chestnuts will blossom in April and May;
But children, who once leave their homes, will return not,
Or, if they return, it will not be to play
And to nestle together; it is not their own,
But the home of their parents when once they have flown.
| In Cornwall and Across the Sea | |