29.12.2010, 18:48
NO NIGHTINGALES. OR COMPENSATION.
Night of' 31st of May.
Long time I waited for the nightingale,
Befool'd by that dumb coppice ; till the dove
And finch descried me watching in the grove,
Poor client of the darkness, worn and pale :
But oh ! how often is our frustrate hope
Exchanged by Heaven for unexpected mirth !
Though baulk'd and sleepless, yet I could not mope
'Mid the full matins of the awaken'd earth ;
Bold chanticleer, alighting from his perch,
' The night birds play thee false,' he said—and crow'd ;
' Welcome to truth and day ! ' The lark uprode
And caroU'd. Thus, amid my weary search
For song in bowers of silence, June was born,
And tuneless night exchanged for choral morn.
Night of' 31st of May.
Long time I waited for the nightingale,
Befool'd by that dumb coppice ; till the dove
And finch descried me watching in the grove,
Poor client of the darkness, worn and pale :
But oh ! how often is our frustrate hope
Exchanged by Heaven for unexpected mirth !
Though baulk'd and sleepless, yet I could not mope
'Mid the full matins of the awaken'd earth ;
Bold chanticleer, alighting from his perch,
' The night birds play thee false,' he said—and crow'd ;
' Welcome to truth and day ! ' The lark uprode
And caroU'd. Thus, amid my weary search
For song in bowers of silence, June was born,
And tuneless night exchanged for choral morn.