Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IF A BIRD CAN SING, by DOUGLAS MALLOCH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IF A BIRD CAN SING, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: If a bird in a cage can sing, my dear
Last Line: If a bird in a cage can sing, my dear!
Subject(s): Birds


If a bird in a cage can sing, my dear,
As though the days of the Spring were here,
If a bird, forgetting the time o' year,

Can sing in a room that is dark and dim
As though he sat on a greening limb,
Yea, sing for those who imprison him,

If a bird, when all that he knew are gone
To the lovely south or the crimson dawn,
Can sit alone and can still sing on --

Surely then you and I can sing,
Whatever shadows around us cling,
Or what the moment may chance to bring,

Surely then you and I can be,
Though bound in body, in spirit free,
Can sing a little as well as he.

For few shall find what they most desire;
We are all shut in with our strands of wire,
Till hearts grow heavy and bodies tire;

We may not labor at what we dream:
But the whistling boy has the willing team,
And a little song makes a shorter seam.

We lose some loves as we pass along:
There are some go far, there are some go wrong;
But still there is joy enough for song.

No night so dark but the dawn is near --
Oh, we can find some thought to cheer
If a bird in a cage can sing, my dear!





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