THE SINGING GARDEN

The Singing honey-eater

When the glowing days grow long
  ’Mid the blossom, sweet my fare,
  Sweet the burden of my song
  Floating on the summer air,
      When the garden is ablaze,
      And all nature wakes to praise
      Glories of the dreaming days
  Sipping, singing, I am there.

Now by  honeysuckle bloom,
  Now by pentstemon I cling;
  Now the golden glow of broom
  Lures me to the banqueting.
      In full many a scented bower
      Here I bend to kiss the flower,
      And, thro’ many a sunlit hour,
  Sing and sip, and sip and sing.

Winter comes, and I am gone,
  Seeking kindlier fields afar;
  For where burning colours shone
  Frost and desolation are.
      But, when lengthening days relearn
      Olden lures, shall I return
      And again when colours burn
  Trill a sweet, melodious bar.