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Title: Birds In The Snow
Author: Dinah M. Mulock Craik [
More Titles by Craik]
CHILD
I WISH I were a little bird
When the sun shines
And the wind whispers low,
Through the tall pines,
I'd rock in the elm tops,
Rifle the pear-tree,
Hide in the cherry boughs,
O such a rare tree!
I wish I were a little bird;
All summer long
I'd fly so merrily
Sing such a song!
Song that should never cease
While daylight lasted,
Wings that should never tire
Howe'er they hasted.
MOTHER
But if you were a little bird--
My baby-blossom.
Nestling so cosily
In mother's bosom,--
A bird, as we see them now,
When the snows harden,
And the wind's blighting breath
Howls round the garden:
What would you do, poor bird,
In winter drear?
No nest to creep into,
No mother near:
Hungry and desolate,
Weary and woeful,
All the earth bound with frost,
All the sky snow-full?
CHILD (_thoughtfully_).
That would be sad, and yet
Hear what I'd do--
Mother, in winter time
I'd come to you!
If you can like the birds
Spite of their thieving,
Give them your trees to build,
Garden to live in,
I think if I were a bird
When winter comes
I'd trust you, mother dear,
For a few crumbs,
Whether I sang or not,
Were lark, thrush, or starling.--
MOTHER (_aside_).
Then--Father--I trust _Thee_
With this my darling.
[The end]
Dinah M. Mulock Craik's poem: Birds In The Snow
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