Classic Poem

A little bird flew through the dell,
And where the failing sunbeams fell
He warbled thus his wondrous lay.
" Adieu! adieu! I go away:
Far, far,
Must I voyage ere the twilight star! "

It pierced me through, the song he sang,
With many a sweet and bitter pang:
For wounding joy, delicious pain,
My bosom swelled and sank again.
Heart! heart!
Is it drunk with bliss or woe thou art?

Then, when I saw the drifted leaves,
I said, " Already Autumn grieves!
To sunnier skies the swallow hies:
So Love departs and Longing flies,
Far, far,
Where the Radiant and the Beauteous are. "

But soon the Sun shone out anew,
And back the little flutterer flew:
He saw my grief, he saw my tears,
And sang, " Love knows no Winter years!
No! no!
While it lives its breath is Summer's glow! "