Child Songs of Cheer

<h2><SPAN name="THE_FIRST_RED-BIRD" id="THE_FIRST_RED-BIRD"></SPAN>THE FIRST RED-BIRD</h2> <div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">I heard a song at daybreak,<br/></span> <span class="i2">So honey-sweet and clear,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The essence of all joyous things<br/></span> <span class="i2">Seemed mingling in its cheer.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The frosty world about me<br/></span> <span class="i2">I searched with eager gaze,<br/></span> <span class="i0">But all was slumber-bound and wrapped<br/></span> <span class="i2">In violet-tinted haze.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Then suddenly a sunbeam<br/></span> <span class="i2">Shot slanting o'er the hill,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And once again from out the sky<br/></span> <span class="i2">I heard that honied trill.<br/></span> <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And there upon a poplar,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Poised at its topmost height,<br/></span> <span class="i0">I saw a little singer clad<br/></span> <span class="i2">In scarlet plumage bright.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The poplar branches quivered,<br/></span> <span class="i2">By dawn winds lightly blown,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And like a breeze-swept poppy-flower<br/></span> <span class="i2">The red-bird rocked and shone.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The blue sky, and his feathers<br/></span> <span class="i2">Flashed o'er by golden light,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Oh, all my heart with rapture thrilled,<br/></span> <span class="i2">It was so sweet a sight!<br/></span></div> </div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</SPAN></span></p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />