  Loveliest dawn of gold and rose Steals across undrifted snows; In brown, rustling oak leaves stir Squirrel, nuthatch, woodpecker; Brief their matins, but, by noon, All the sunny wood’s a-tune: Jays, forgetting their harsh cries, Pipe a spring note, clear and true; Wheel on angel wings of blue, Trumpeters of Paradise; Then the tiniest feathered thing, All a-flutter, tail and wing, Gives himself to caroling: “Chick-a-dee-dee, chick-a-dee! Jesulino, hail to thee! Lowliest baby born to-day, Pillowed on a wisp of hay; King no less of sky and earth, And singing sea; Jesu! Jesu! most and least! For the sweetness of thy birth Every little bird and beast, Wind and wave and forest tree, Praises God exceedingly, Exceedingly.” From “The Poems of Sophie Jewett.” Included by permission of the Thomas Y. Crowell Company. |
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