[498] 1837.
... its brightness,
Is ... 1827.
[499] The last three lines were added in 1837.—Ed.
IN THE WOODS OF RYDAL[500]
Composed 1827.—Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
Wild Redbreast![501] hadst them at Jemima's lip[502]
Pecked, as at mine, thus boldly, Love might say[503]
A half-blown rose had tempted thee to sip
Its glistening dews: but hallowed is the clay
Which the Muse warms; and I, whose head is grey,[504] 5
Am not unworthy of thy fellowship;
Nor could I let one thought—one motion—slip
That might thy sylvan confidence betray.
For are we not all His without whose care
Vouchsafed no sparrow falleth to the ground?[505] 10
Who gives his Angels wings to speed through air,
And rolls the planets through the blue profound;
Then peck or perch, fond Flutterer! nor forbear
To trust a Poet in still musings bound.[506]
FOOTNOTES:
[500] The original title (in MS.) was "To a Redbreast." In the Woods of Rydal was added in 1836.—Ed.