The Redbreast
Charlotte Richardson
1775 to 1832
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Cold blew the freezing northern blast,
And winter sternly frowned;
The flaky snow fell thick and fast,
And clad fields around.
Forced by the storm’s relentless power,
Emboldened despair,
A shivering redbreast sought my door,
Some friendly to share.
‘Welcome, sweet bird!’ I fondly cried,
‘No danger need’st thou fear,
Secure with me thou may’st abide,
Till warmer suns appear.
‘And when mild spring comes on,
And bids the fields look gay,
Thou, with sweet, thy grateful song,
My kindness shalt repay.’
thought! — But how shall I
The mournful truth display?
An envious cat, with jealous eye,
Had marked him her prey.
Remorseless wretch! — her cruel jaws
Soon her victim’s doom,
While I in silence mourn his loss,
And weep o’er robin’s tomb.
So, oft in life’s way,
Some stroke may intervene;
Sweep all our fancied away,
And change the flattering scene.