BIRD NOTES 



' Gaily we danced and played 



All the long summer day ; 



Sweet was thy breath o'er thyme-buds thou 

 hadst strayed ; 



Feed now on our decay. 



' Birds, though so blithe ye be, 



Farewell ye too must say ; 

 But while we flee to our mouldy death-bed, ye 



O'er sunny seas flit away. 



' Do not forget our sighs, 



Pleasant our shade has been 

 Pleasant the gleam of your soft brown eyes, 



Peeping the boughs between. 



' Birds, blithesome birds, farewell ! 



Still let the robin's note, 

 Chanting our requiem and ringing our knell, 



Over our low grave float. 



' Children, and lovers true, 



Friends who beneath us strayed, 

 Watching the gold lights glittering through, 



Do not forget our shade. 



' We leave our buds behind, 



Each in its perfect place ; 

 Folded and firm, its brown robe warmly lined, 



Waiting the wodd to grace. 



' Let not the worm intrude, 



Nor tooth of frost so keen ; 

 World ! Winds ! your ways are rough and 

 rude, 



Touch not their tender green ! 



