I heard a redbird singing
Beside my door to-day.
Bright his coat of scarlet,
And happy was his lay.
He trilled and chirped and twittered
In varied note and key.
It was a great example
Of birdland minstrelsy.
Then I beheld before me
That vast, unnumbered throng
Whose weary, sodden voices
Have never learned a song;
And while I heard the redbird
Stand forth and greet the spring,
I wished that all earth’s children
Were glad enough to sing.