Classic Poem

I SOOTHED a bird with a broken limb —
Why does a rose so sweetly smell? —
Bright were the eyes and the plumes of him:
O heart beat softer! —
Thou canst not tell .

Safe in a bower he was set to rest —
What is the secret of beauty's spell? —
He was woo'd to health in a lichen nest:
O sweet bird-singer! —
Thou canst not tell .

The bird flew out through a door ajar —
Where flies the soul with the passing bell? —
High sounds his song at the evening star:
O voice of freedom! —
Thou canst not tell .

But why the rose has a scent so sweet —
And where all secrets of beauty dwell —
When souls go up from this dim retreat
Through gates left open —
The soul shall tell .