VAGRANT VERSE

Southland Times, Issue 18843, 8 June 1920, Page 4

VAGRANT VERSE

UP SPRINGS THE LARK Up .springs the lark, Shrill-voiced and loud, the messenger ol morn. Ere yet the shadows fly, he mounted sings Amid the dawning clouds, and from their haunts Calk up the tuneful nations. Every copso Deep-tangled tree irregular, and bush Bending with dewy moisture, o’er the heads Of the coy quirkters lhat lodge within. Are prodigal of harmony. The thrush And woodlark, o'er the kind contending throng Superior heard, run through the. sweetest length Of notes; when listening Philomela deigns To let them joy, and purposes, in thought Elate, to make her night excel their day. The blackbird whistles from the thorny brake; The mellow bulfinch answers from the grove; Nor are the linnets, o'er the flowering furze Poured out profusely, silent; joined to these, Innumerous songsters, in the freshening shade Of new-sprung leaves, their modulations mix Mellifluous. The jay, the rook, the daw, And each harsh pipe, discordant heard alone. Add the full concert; while the stock-dove breathes A melancholy murmur through the whole. ■—James Thomson,