LISTEN! the mother
Croons o’er her darling;
Birds to the summer
Call from the trees;
Sailors in chorus
Chant of the ocean:
The poet’s heart singeth
Songs sweeter than these.
Thy lute, gentle lover,
To her thou adorest;
Ye troubadours! pæans
For princes of Guelph:
But Heaven’s own harpers
Breathe not in their music
The song that his happy heart
Sings to itself;
The changeless, soft song that it
Sings to itself!