The Unconquered Air, and Other Poems (1912)/The White-Throated Sparrow

For other versions of this work, see The White-throated Sparrow.

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The Unconquered Air, and Other Poems by Florence Earle Coates The White-Throated Sparrow

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Song of the White-throated Sparrow

THE WHITE-THROATED SPARROW

"When the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows"

Would you feel the witching spell  Of the whitethroat, listen! There are secrets he can tell Of the marsh, and of the dell  Where the dewdrops glisten. Poet of the brooding pine  And the feathery larches, Dawn-lit summits seem to shine, Lucent in each throbbing line,  Under azure arches. All his soul a floating song,—  Sweet, too sweet for sadness,— At his bidding, hither throng Memories that make us long  With a plaintive gladness. Ah, were all the woodland bare,  Should those notes but quiver, Straight I 'd see it budding fair!— And the lilies would be there,  Floating on the river!