The Song-Sparrow (of Birds and Flowers)

There is a bird I know so well, / It seems as if he must have sung / Beside my crib when I was young; / Before I knew the way to spell / The name of even the smallest bird, / His gentle-joyful song I heard. / Now see if you can tell, my dear, / What bird it is that, every year, / Sings _"Sweet -- sweet -- sweet -- very merry cheer. "_

He comes in March, when winds are strong, / And snow returns to hide the earth; / But still he warms his heart with mirth, / And waits for May. He lingers long / While flowers fade; and every day / Repeats his small, contented lay; / As if to say, we need not fear / The season's change, if love is here / With _"Sweet -- sweet -- sweet -- very merry cheer. "_