In the Woods of Rydal

Composed 1827.—Published 1827

One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.

Wild Redbreast! hadst them at Jemima's lip
Pecked, as at mine, thus boldly, Love might say
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,
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?
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.