HAPPY songster, perched above, On the summit of the grove, Whom a dewdrop cheers to sing With the freedom of a king! From thy perch survey the fields Where prolific nature yields Nought that, willingly as she, Man surrenders not to thee. For hostility or hate None thy pleasures can create. Thee it satisfies to sing Sweetly the return of spring, Herald of the genial hours, Harming neither herbs nor flowers. Therefore man thy voice attends Gladly,--thou and he are friends, Nor thy never-ceasing strains Phoebus or the Muse disdains As too simple or too long, For themselves inspire the song. Earth-born, bloodless, undecaying, Ever singing, sporting, playing, What has nature else to show Godlike in its kind as thou? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ITALIAN PICTURES: JULY IN VALLOMBROSA by MINA LOY APRIL by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS IN AFTER DAYS; RONDEAU by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON MR. FLOOD'S PARTY by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON FRENCH REVOLUTION; AS IT APPEARED TO ENTHUSIASTS AT ITS COMMENCEMENT by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH LATAKIA by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |