Illustrated poems / by L. H. Sigourney ; with designs by Felix O.C. Darley [electronic text]

THE EARLY BLUE-BIRD.

BLUE-BIRD! on yon leafless tree, Dost thou carol thus to me, "Spring is coming! Spring is here!" Say'st thou so, my birdie dear? What is that, in misty shroud, Stealing from the darken'd cloud? Lo! the snow-flakes' gathering mound Settles o'er the whiten'd ground, Yet thou singest, blithe and clear, "Spring is coming! Spring is here!"

Strik'st thou not too bold a strain? Winds are piping o'er the plain; Clouds are sweeping o'er the sky With a black and threatening eye; Urchins, by the frozen rill, Wrap their mantles closer still; Yon poor man, with doublet old, Doth he shiver at the cold?

Hath he not a nose of blue? Tell me, birdling, tell me true.

Spring's a maid of mirth and glee, Rosy wreaths and revelry: Hast thou woo'd some winged love To a nest in verdant grove? Sung to her of greenwood bower, Sunny skies that never lower? Lured her with thy promise fair Of a lot that knows no care? Prithee, bird, in coat of blue, Though a lover, tell her true.

Ask her if, when storms are long, She can sing a cheerful song? When the rude winds rock the tree, If she'll closer cling to thee? Then the blasts that sweep the sky, Unappall'd shall pass thee by; Though thy curtain'd chamber show Siftings of untimely snow, Warm and glad thy heart shall be, Love shall make it Spring for thee.