Gilds every lofty top, which late the humorous night
Bespangled had with pearl, to please the morning’s sight;
On which the mirthful choirs, with their clear, open throats,
Unto the joyful morn so strain their warbling notes,
That hills and valleys ring, and even the echoing air
Seems all composed of sounds about them everywhere.
Michael Drayton, 1563–1631.
THE BLACK COCK.
Good-morrow to thy sable beak,
And glossy plumage, dark and sleek—