I HAVE a bird of paradise; Upon a springing cypress-tree She sits for hours while daylight flies, And not a song by day sings she. Her back is of celestial blue, Her head is purple; flaming dye Upon her wings, of golden hue Like dawn's reflection in the sky. Only when earth is slumbering, Hidden, as night mists silent roll, Upon her bough she starts to sing So sweetly, sweetly to the soul, That forced by it, your load of pain Forgetting, you must sing away, And in your heart each tender strain Is a dear friend who comes to stay. Often in tempests I have heard That song which means so much to me, And always for my peaceful bird I listen, listen hopefully. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...UNCLE JIM'S BAPTIST REVIVAL HYMN by SIDNEY LANIER SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: AMI GREEN by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE WANDERER: A ROCOCO STUDY (FIRST VERSION) by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS AN ODE IN IMITATION OF ALCAEUS by WILLIAM JONES IT IS FINISHED' by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI SISTER HELEN by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI |