A Reed by the River/Youth

YOUTH
Out of the heart there flew a little singing bird
Past the dawn and the dew, where leaves of morning stirred,
And the heart which followed on, said; "Though the bird be flown
Which sang in the dew and the dawn, the song is still my own."

Over the foot-worn track, over the rock and thorn,
The tired heart looked back to the olive leaves of morn,
To the fair lost fields again, and said; "I hear it! Oh, hark!"—
Though the bird were long since slain, though the song had died in the dark.