by Herman Melville
Beneath yon Larkspur's azure bells
That sun their bees in balmy air
In mould no more the Blue-Bird dwells
Though late he found interment there.
All stiff he lay beneath the Fir
When shrill the March piped overhead,
And Pity gave him sepulchre
Within the Garden's sheltered bed.
And soft she sighed--Too soon he came;
On wings of hope he met the knell;
His heavenly tint the dust shall tame;
Ah, some misgiving had been well.
But, look, the clear etherial hue
In June it makes the Larkspur's dower;
It is the self-same welkin-blue--
The Bird's transfigured in the Flower.
Last updated January 14, 2019