A FAITHFUL MOTHER 



Photo by Rannie Smith 



THE WOODS 



By SOPHIE EARL 



I. 



Where the heron gives its plaintive cry at night 



And the loon its crazy laughter by the day ; 

 Where the towering pines adorn the dusky height, 

 And dewy brackens, shimmering, greet the light — 

 There was I fain to stay. 



II. 



Oh ! snows that pile upon the balmy past, 



The brackens, brown and shrivelled, long have lain 

 Beneath your shroud, yet still defy the blast, 

 The shattering season's change, and so outlast 

 To make spring green again. 



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