A LITTLE trellis stood beside my head,
And all the tiny fruitage of its vine
Fashioned a shadowy cover to my bed,
And I was madly drunk on shadow wine!
A lily bell hung sidewise, leaning down,
And gowned me in a robe so light and long;
And so I dreamed, and drank, and slept, and heard
The lily’s song.
Lo, for a house, the shadow of the moon;
For golden money, all the daisy rings;
And for my love, the meadow at my side —
Thus tramps are kings!
The Spirit of Love came down upon the earth,
He came full-breath’d and strong,
And ever as he went a glorious birth
Grew forth in flowers and song.
The trees burst into buds, and in all love
Shook forth their morning hymn,
While the white clouds kept silent watch above,
Like veilëd cherubim.
The populous birds from out their leafy bound
Made music everywhere,
And shook with thrills of modulated sound
The rich and balmy air.
The brooklet, silent for a weary time,
Broke into gush and flow,
And sang, as poets sing their first sweet rhyme,
Its pæan soft and low.
The flowers came forth and spread, in meek surprise,
Their hues of varied tone,
And gave, full-hearted, to the happy skies
An incense all their own.
A murmur like a fairy’s song went through
The earth’s life-heaving breast;
Then sank away, as all such murmurs do,
In ecstacies of rest.
So where that Spirit stood, in holy mirth—
By wood, or hill, or stream—
A smile, as if the sky had fallen to earth,
Woke up with angel beam.
And in that smile the leaves and flowers took part,
To make earth sweet and fair.
O Spirit of Love! come thou into my heart
And make all blossom there.
Sing, youth, the loveliest song you know!
Sing the song that seethes within your breast,
Let your joy burst forth in passion…
Don’t hold back your song! Let it soar.
Sing your song, youth. I beg you sing…
Let it seize you, kiss you, inspire you to love
With youthful ardour… Let the foaming wave of feelings
Which your song arouses surge over us.
Sing your song, youth, and laugh like children!
Let the sound of your voice rise to the heavens
And echo back to us again, from the envious stars.
For we adore you, as we adore the sun.
Sing, youth! Sing your joyful song!
Laugh, youth, laugh! The world is yours.
Edward Shanks
As I lay in the early sun,
Stretched in the grass, I thought upon
My true love, my dear love,
Who has my heart for ever,
Who is my happiness when we meet,
My sorrow when we sever.
She is all fire when I do burn,
Gentle when I moody turn,
Brave when I am sad and heavy
And all laughter when I am merry.
And so I lay and dreamed and dreamed and dreamed,
And so the day wheeled on,
While all the birds with thoughts like mine
Were singing to the sun.
Felicia Dorothea Hemans
Droop not, my Brother! I hear a glad strain—
We shall burst forth like streams from the winter-night’s chain;
A flag is unfurl’d, a bright star of the sea,
A ransom approaches, we yet shall be free!
Where the pines wave, where the light chamois leaps,
Where the lone eagle hath built on the steeps,
Where the snows glisten, the mountain rills foam,
Free as the falcon’s wing, yet shall we roam.
Where the hearth shines, where the kind looks are met,
Where the smiles mingle, our place shall be yet!
Crossing the desert, o’ersweeping the sea,
Brother, brave Brother! we yet shall be free!
You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear. ~ Unknown
Everywhere was singing, all over the house was singing, and outside the house was alive with singing, and the very air was song. ~ Richard Llewellyn
“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
When the Shy Star Goes Forth in Heaven by James Joyce
When the shy star goes forth in heaven
All maidenly, disconsolate,
Hear you amid the drowsy even
One who is singing by your gate.
His song is softer than the dew
And he is come to visit you.
O bend no more in revery
When he at eventide is calling.
Nor muse: Who may this singer be
Whose song about my heart is falling?
Know you by this, the lover’s chant,
‘Tis I that am your visitant.
