BIRDS OF PASSAGE. 



Black shadows fall 



From the lindens tall, 



That lift aloft their massive wall 



Against the southern sky ; , 



And from the realms 

 Of the shadowy elms, 

 A tide-like darkness overwhelms 



The fields that round us lie. 



But the night is fair 



And everywhere 



A warm, soft vapor fills the air 



And distant sounds seem near : 



And above, in the light 

 Of the star-lit night. 

 Swift birds of passage wing their flight 

 Through the dewy atmosphere. 



I hear the beat 

 Of their pinions fleet. 

 As from the land of snow and sleet 

 They seek a southern lea. 



I hear the cry 



Of their voices high 



Rilling dreamily through the sky. 



But their forms I cannot see. 



— IvONGFEl^LOW. 



19 



