A fledgling softly homed upon my breast,
And nestled close, a shy, expectant thing;
And I, responsive to its fluttering,
Yearned over it while wond'ring on its quest,

And learned to love it as a welcome guest,
To fold in love each brilliant, velvet wing,
To hear the new-born notes it came to sing,
As, lying on my heart, it waited test.

Oh you, who coldly snatched it from my arm
To break its lovely wings and see it die
And mock before the place where it had lain,
Your late regret may not undo the harm,

Nor life be resurrected at my cry,
When beauty, such as this, has once been slain.