The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay With Illustrations by John Gilbert |
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THE LINNET MUST SING, THOUGH THE FALCON MAY HEAR. |
 | The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay |  |
THE LINNET MUST SING, THOUGH THE FALCON MAY HEAR.
I
The linnet must sing, though the falcon may hear;The leaf must unfold, though it die with the year;
And the glow-worm must shine, though the light which it shows
But guide the attack of its wandering foes;
At the call of the tempest the billows must foam,
Though the ship may be wreck'd that is journeying home;
And the young heart must love, though experience declare
That love is a folly, and passion a snare.
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II
In vain, all in vain, are the lessons of old,—The world must roll on as it ever has roll'd.
If the birds would not sing, lest the fowler might spy,
The music of earth would be mute in the sky;
If the storms would not blow, lest the oak might be riven,
Not a flower could expand to the breezes of heaven;
And if hearts would not love, lest a grief might ensue,
Oh, the world were no home for the young and the true!
| The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | |