Classic Poem

Fond, timid creature! fear not me;
Think not I mean to injure thee;
I am not come with hard intent,
To steal the treasure Heaven hath sent;
Hovering with fond anxiety
Around thine unfledg'd family,
Fearful and tender as thou art,
Each step alarms thy failing heart!
But let those fluttering plumes lie still,
Those needless terrors cease to feel!
Why hop so fast from bough to bough?
Thou hear'st no hostile footstep now.
Compose thy feathers, ease thy fear,
No cruel purpose brought me here:
I came not rudely to invade
The little dwelling thou hast made;
To hurt thy fair domestic peace,
And wound parental tenderness.
Perish the hand, th' ungentle hand,
That against Nature's loud command,
Thine humble pleasures could molest,
And pierce so innocent a breast.
And doubly curst, sweet red-breast, he
That steals thine helpless young from thee.
When cheerless, wintry scenes appear,
Thy sprightly song well-pleas'd we hear;
And he that robs thee of thy young
But ill repays that sprightly song.
Kind Heaven protect thy tender brood!
Secret and safe be their abode;
Let no malign, exploring eye
The little tenement descry.
Still may thy fond, assiduous care
Thine offspring unmolested rear:
Teach them, like thee, to spread the wing,
And teach them too, like thee, to sing.
And may each pure felicity
That birds can feel, be felt by thee.
When gloomy winter shall appear,
And clouds deform the weeping year;
When cold thy little frame shall chill,
And piercing hunger thou shalt feel;
Then from each rude tempestuous wind
Some genial shelter may'st thou find;
Some gentle mansion let thee come,
And peck the hospitable crumb;
Till spring once more revive the plain,
And bid thee frame thy nest again.