by William Cullen Bryant (1794 - 1878)
To a waterfowl
Language: English
Whither, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way? Vainly the fowler`s eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly seen against the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along. Seek`st thou the plashy brink Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, Or where the rocking billows rise and sink On the chafed ocean - side? There is a Power whose care Teaches thy way along that pathless coast - The desert and illimitable air - Lone wandering, but not lost. All day thy wings have fanned, At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, Though the dark night is near. And soon that toil shall end; Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest, And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend, Soon, o`er thy sheltered nest. Thou`rt gone, the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart Deeply has sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart. He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright.
Text Authorship:
- by William Cullen Bryant (1794 - 1878), "To a Waterfowl", from Poems, first published 1821 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Bainbridge Crist (1883 - 1969), "To a waterfowl", published 1947. [SSA chorus, piano] [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-03-15
Line count: 32
Word count: 211