HOW shall a man or woman pass unstirred? @3A shilling, these! One shilling, cage and bird!@1 I vow to birds my pennies! I will pinch, Redeeming redstart, yellowhammer, finch. So they recover all their greens and blues, Threadbare my coat shall be and old my shoes. Give me to fill my hand with living fluff, And toss the life to heaven—joy enough! Give me to stroke each shining head; to feel The wild-bird in the captive make appeal. Ah, blackbird, blackbird, do not fear to see How misty Laura's grey-blue eyes can be! Her trembling lips must consecrate your flight With murmurings and kisses. Then, goodnight! Behold her gift of cherries for your bill! Peck here in peace and take your fruity fill. No thoughtless man shall rob you of the sky And share our loaf. We frown and pass him by. Our hearts have grieved to see you where we find The core of life less treasured than the rind. Our souls have quivered with indignant rage To hear a ruffian curse you in your cage. So we have vowed to spend with care; to pinch For linnet, lark and starling, thrush and finch. Though Laura's homespun fade, she has her will— The woodland hears a once familiar bill. What need to care for shabbiness that shows? Redemption stands in feathers on a rose. Lovers of Christ, how long shall it be said That what He bade us @3do@1 is only @3read@1? Lovers of Christ, how comes it that to-day The grief of birds is chosen for your play? As Christ exceeded all of us in worth, So we exceed the lower lives of earth. As mercy poured from Him whose love we seek, So should it pour from us to help the weak. If freedmen use their freedom to condemn A life to what was death-in-life for them, They wound the noble hand that turned of yore The key of sorrow in their dungeon door. How shall a man or woman pass unstirred? @3A shilling, these! One shilling, cage and bird!@1 | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...I SING OF LOVE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON LIFE [AND DEATH] by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD SONG OF THE STYGIAN NAIADES by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES THE FUTURE LIFE by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT A RED, RED ROSE by ROBERT BURNS ON DONNE'S POETRY by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE SIR LANCELOT AND QUEEN GUINEVERE by ALFRED TENNYSON |