If there come, indeed, a long, hard frost,
Then it looks as though thy birds were lost.
But I consider further and find
A hungry bird has a free mind;
He is hungry to-day, but not to-morrow,
Steals no comfort, no grief doth borrow;
This moment is his, thy will hath said it,
The next is nothing till Thou hast made it.
The bird has pain, but has no fear—
Which is the worst of any gear;