SILENCE instead of thy sweet song, my bird, Which through the darkness of my winter days Warbling of summer sunshine still was heard; Mute is thy song, and vacant is thy place. The spring comes back again, the fields rejoice, Carols of gladness ring from every tree; But I shall hear thy wild triumphant voice No more: my summer song has died with thee. What didst thou sing of, O my summer bird? The broad, bright, brimming river, whose swift sweep And whirling eddies by the home are heard, Rushing, resistless, to the calling deep. What didst thou sing of, thou melodious sprite? Pine forests, with smooth russet carpets spread, Where e'en at noonday dimly falls the light, Through gloomy blue-green branches overhead. What didst thou sing of, O thou jubilant soul? Ever-fresh flowers and never-leafless trees, Bending great ivory cups to the control Of the soft swaying orange-scented breeze. What didst thou sing of, thou embodied glee? The wide wild marshes with their clashing reeds And topaz-tinted channels, where the sea Daily its tides of briny freshness leads. What didst thou sing of, O thou winged voice? Dark, bronze-leaved oaks, with silver mosses crowned, Where thy free kindred live, love, and rejoice, With wreaths of golden jasmine curtained round. These didst thou sing of, spirit of delight! From thy own radiant sky, thou quivering spark! These thy sweet southern dreams of warmth and light, Through the grim northern winter drear and dark. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON A TUFT OF GRASS by EMMA LAZARUS DARKNESS by GEORGE GORDON BYRON EVIL EASIER THAN GOOD by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH POST MORTEM by GUSTAVO ADOLFO BECQUER AULD ROBIN FORBES by SUSANNA BLAMIRE RHYME OF THE DUCHESS MAY by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE INVENTORY, IN ANSWER TO ... SURVEYOR OF TXAES by ROBERT BURNS |