 | Studies from the Antique and Sketches from Nature |  |
262
THE BONNIE WEE BIRD.
When I was young, and blithe, and free,
A wee bird sat in the hawthorn tree.
Ever at morn its sweet notes rang,
Ever at night it trilled and sang:—
“Love is the ruler of the wise,
Love is the light of earth and skies,
Love is the path to Paradise.”
A wee bird sat in the hawthorn tree.
Ever at morn its sweet notes rang,
Ever at night it trilled and sang:—
“Love is the ruler of the wise,
Love is the light of earth and skies,
Love is the path to Paradise.”
And now that the flush of youth has gone,
Still the bonnie wee bird sings on.
I hear it high in the summer cloud,
I hear it clear when the storm grows loud:—
“The wrong is wrong but for a day;
The wild wind blows the smoke away,
And right is right, for ever and aye.”
Still the bonnie wee bird sings on.
I hear it high in the summer cloud,
I hear it clear when the storm grows loud:—
“The wrong is wrong but for a day;
The wild wind blows the smoke away,
And right is right, for ever and aye.”
263
When nations moan in wild unrest,
By king or kaiser sore opprest,
I hear far off that wee bird's song—
Sad, yet hopeful; sweet, but strong:—
“The sword shall fail them by-and-by,
The people's hour is drawing nigh!”
Bonnie wee bird, sing high! sing high!
By king or kaiser sore opprest,
I hear far off that wee bird's song—
Sad, yet hopeful; sweet, but strong:—
“The sword shall fail them by-and-by,
The people's hour is drawing nigh!”
Bonnie wee bird, sing high! sing high!
| Studies from the Antique and Sketches from Nature | |