RAIN AND SUNSHINE by PHOEBE CARY

I WAS out in the country
To feel the sweet spring,
I was out in the country
To hear the birds sing;
To bask in the sunshine,
Breathe air pure and sweet,
And walk where the blossoms
Grew under my feet.

So at morning I woke
While my chamber was dark,
And was up -- or I should have been --
Up with the lark,
Only no lark was rising;
And never a throat
Of bird since the morning
Had uttered a note.

It was raining, and sadly
I gazed on the skies,
Saying, "Nothing is left us
To gladden our eyes;
And no pleasanter sound
Than this drip on the pane!"
When I caught a soft patter
That was not the rain.

First I heard the light falling
Of feet on the stair,
Then the voice of a child
Ringing clear through the air,
And with eyes wide awake,
And curls tumbled about,
Came Freddy, the darling,
With laugh and with shout.

No longer we heeded
The rain or the gloom;
His smile, like the sunshine,
Illumined the room;
We missed not the birds
While his glad voice was nigh:
His lips were our roses,
His eyes were our sky.

Sweet pet of the household,
And hope of each heart,
God keep thee, dear Freddy,
As pure as thou art,
And make thee, when changes
And sorrows shall come,
The comfort and sweetness
And sunshine of home!

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