Excerpt from Birds of Song and Story The Birds They are swaying in the marshes, They are swinging in the glen, Where the cat-tails air their brushes In the zephyrs of the fen; In the swamp's deserted tangle, Where the reed-grass whets its scythes; In the dismal, creepy quagmire, Where the snake-gourd twists and writhes. They are singing in arroyos, Where the cactus mails its breast, Where the Spanish bayonet glistens On the steep bank's rocky crest; In the canon, where the cascade Sets its pearls in maiden-hair, Where the hay and holly beckon Valley sun and mountain air. They are nesting in the elbow Of the scrub-oak's knotty arm, In the gray mesh of the sage-brush, In the wheat-fields of the farm; In the banks along the sea beach, In the vine above my door, In the outstretched, clumsy fingers Of the mottled sycamore. While the church-bell rings its discourse They are sitting on the spires; Song and anthem, psalm and carol Quaver as from mystic lyres. Everywhere they flirt and flutter, Mate and nest in shrub and tree. Charmed, I wander yon and hither, While their beauties ravish me, About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.