The First Red-Bird
I heard a song at daybreak,
So honey-sweet and clear,
The essence of all joyous things
Seemed mingling in its cheer.
The frosty world about me
I searched with eager gaze,
But all was slumber-bound and wrapped
In violet-tinted haze.
Then suddenly a sunbeam
Shot slanting o'er the hill,
And once again from out the sky
I heard that honied trill.
And there upon a poplar,
Poised at its topmost height,
I saw a little singer clad
In scarlet plumage bright.
The poplar branches quivered,
By dawn winds lightly blown,
And like a breeze-swept poppy-flower
The red-bird rocked and shone.
The blue sky, and his feathers
Flashed o'er by golden light,
Oh, all my heart with rapture thrilled,
It was so sweet a sight!
