BIRD-NOTES.
Reading edition
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BY WM. H. C. HOSMER.
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Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle, and the crane and the swallow, observe the time of their coming. Jer. c. vii. v. 7.
The stork in heaven knoweth
Her own appointed time,
And like an arrow goeth
Back to our colder clime:
The turtle, crane and swallow
Come, on unerring wing,
When northern hill and hollow
Bask in the light of Spring.
But we, endowed with reason,
Cannot foreknow the hour—
The sweet, appointed season
For bursting of Hope’s flower;
When near the glad fruition
Of toil that worked annoy—
When sorrow’s drear condition
Gives place to heart-felt joy.
Lo! blighting frost encroaches
On Autumn’s sad domain,
And Winter wild approaches
To end his feeble reign:
The birds of passage gather
And fly across the wave,
Their guide a Heavenly Father,
Omnipotent to save;
But man, with reason gifted,
Cannot the hour foreknow
When Hope’s bright curtain lifted
Reveals a waste of wo;
When clouds send lightning flashes
Our idols to consume,
And dreams, resolved to ashes,
Are scattered on his tomb.