Page:Familiar letters of Henry David Thoreau.djvu/112

 88 YEARS OF DISCIPLINE. [1843,

Yet tliou wast cheery still ;.

They could not quench thy fire ; Thou didst abide their will,

And then retire.

Where chiefly shall I look

To feel thy presence near ? Along 1 the neighboring brook

May I thy voice still hear ?

Dost thou still haunt the brink

Of yonder river s tide ? And may I ever think

That thou art by my side ?

What bird wilt thou employ

To bring 1 me word of thee ? For it would give them joy,

T would give them liberty, To serve their former lord

With wing and minstrelsy.

A sadder strain mixed with their song, They ve slowlier built their nests ;

Since thou art gone

Their lively labor rests.

Where is the finch, the thrush

I used to hear ? Ah, they could well abide

The dying year.

Now they no more return,

I hear them not ; They have remained to mourn ;

Or else forgot.