Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE CAGED LARK, by COLIN RAE-BROWN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE CAGED LARK, by                    
First Line: Poor prison'd lark! All thy regrets are vain
Last Line: And spend my leisure hours with books and thee.
Subject(s): Birds; Larks; Skylarks


POOR prison'd Lark! all thy regrets are vain,
Thou canst not visit the green fields of May;
Howe'er melodious may be thy strain,
Here thou art doom'd in bondage close to stay.

What! set thee free -- to joy with thine own kind --
To revel gladly in the summer air --
To join the throng harmoniously combined
To banish from each listener gloomy care --?

Ah! it were vain such freedom to bestow!
They'd deem thee tainted by thy sojourn here,
Would rudely scorn thee -- so increase thy woe --
But here, though prison'd, scorn thou need'st not fear.

Dost note my word, and, noting, think them sage,
That now thou pourest out thy heart in song?
Art thou content to warble in thy cage --
Means so that note so clear, so rich, so long --?

Let it be so! I'll cherish thee, sweet bird!
As fondly as a mother doth her child,
Will, daily, from the verdant, dewy sward,
Cut thee a turf whereon the sun hath smiled --

Will bring thee stores of field-food, fresh and green,
Will tempt thy palate with a wondrous choice,
Will strive to gladden thee from morn till e'en,
And all but satiate thee with little joys:

When comes the sun to smile on youth and age,
Reviving many a sick and drooping heart,
Outside my window, then, I'll hang thy cage --
There thou shalt sing till his last smiles depart.

What! -- louder! -- still more joyous than before --
Thou art content, sweet bird, to stay with me! --
Then, so am I, to tend thee more and more,
And spend my leisure hours with books and thee.





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