Poems

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D. Bogue, 1856 - 215 pages
 

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Page i - And nights devoid of ease, Still heard in his soul the music Of wonderful melodies. Such songs have power to quiet The restless pulse of care, And come like the benediction That follows after prayer.
Page 93 - OF all the birds of tuneful note, That warble o'er field and flood, O give me the thrush with the speckled throat, The king of the ringing wood : For he sits upon the topmost twig To carol forth his glee, And none can dance a merrier jig, Or laugh more loud than he. So the thrush, the thrush, the old gray thrush...
Page 95 - He wooes the bright sun o'er the lea With a flourish of his horn. So the thrush, the thrush, the old gray thrush, A merry, blithe old boy is he ; You may hear him on the roadside bush, Or the topmost twig of the mountain tree. To come with the balmy breath of Spring, And...
Page 88 - BIRD of the Ocean, Graceful in motion, ! Swift in thy passage from inland to sea ; Oft I in fancy pace Over thy dwelling place, Dear to thy nestlings and precious to me. Bright in eccentric flight, Gleaming with purest white, Floating through ether, all buoyant and free ; Raptured, I've seen thee swerve From thy fantastic curve, Dropping with call-note to sport on the lea. Oft when the billows foam, Far from thy native home, Sheltered by woodland, near meadow and brook, Over a rugged stile, Thoughtful,...
Page 157 - ... plays touchingly on the flute, and sings his own songs to his own tunes with striking energy or tenderness." He certainly enjoyed his life as a postman. He says: — O, the postman's life is as happy a life As any one's, I trow ; Wand'ring away where dragon-flies play, And brooks sing- soft and low ; And watching the lark as he soars on high, To carol in yonder cloud, "He sings in his labours, and why not I ?
Page 161 - mid sleet and snow ; If drenched to the skin with rain, be fun, And can a joy bestow ! If toiling away through a weary week (No six-day week, but seven), Without one holy hour to seek A resting-place in heaven, — If hearing the bells ring Sabbath chimes, To bid us all repair To church (as in the olden times), And bend the knee in prayer, — If in those bells he hears a voice, " To thy delivery, " God says to every soul, ' Rejoice,
Page 19 - Devon gave the Men." The brave old men of Devonshire ! 'Tis worth a world to stand As Devon's sons, on Devon's soil, Though infants of the band ; And tell old England to her face, If she is great in fame, 'Twas good old heart of Devon oak That made her glorious name. Speak out, old sea-dog DRAKE — speak out ! And RALEIGH of renown ; GILBERT, and GRENVILLE, lion-hearts, And valiant CHAMPERNOWNE ; And MONK, the Duke of Albemarle, Brave KEATS, and bold CAREW, And, bravest of the brave in war, Stout...
Page 55 - WHERE HAST THOU BEEN, MY BEAUTIFUL SPRING ? WHERE hast thou been, my beautiful Spring ? To the sultry south, on the swallow's wing ; Kissing the little kidnapped slave, Ere borne away on the deep blue wave ; Brushing the tear from the mother's cheek, • As she wept for her child at Mozambique ? Else whence comest thou with this potent charm, Chaining the winds to the frigid zone, Making the breast of Nature warm, And stilling old Winter's undertone ? Where hast thou been, my beautiful Spring...
Page 29 - E'en thy foes will call it kindly. Words are wind : oh let them never Friendship's golden love-cords sever ! Nor be angry, though another Scorn to call thee friend or brother; " Brother," say, " let 's be forgiving, — Live in love ; 'tis pleasant living.
Page 57 - These white-fringed daisies with golden-dipped eyes, These buttercups gleaming like summer-lit skies, These violets adorned with rich purple and blue, These primroses fragrant and innocent too : And lastly, the sweetest and richest, I ween, Of all thy fair daughters, my beautiful Spring ! The buddings that stud all thy pathways with green, Say, where were they gather'd, to shake from thy wing ? Tale ëdunt caeleste melos, [ cáelo velut redîris.

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