by John Webster (1580 - 1632)

Call for the Robin‑Redbreast
Language: English 
Call for the robin-redbreast and the wren,
Since o'er shady groves they hover
And with leaves and flowers do cover
The friendless bodies of unburied men.
Call unto his funeral dole
The ant, the field-mouse, and the mole
To rear him hillocks that shall keep him warm
And (when gay tombs are robb'd) sustain no harm;
But keep the wolf far thence, that's foe to men,
For with his nails he'll dig them up again.

Confirmed with English Poetry I: From Chaucer to Gray, Volume XL, The Harvard Classics, New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909-1914.


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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2022-01-03
Line count: 10
Word count: 75