Welcome! welcome! little stranger, <br />Welcome to my lone retreat, <br />Here, secure from every danger, <br />Hop about, and chirp, and eat. <br />Robin! how I envy thee, <br />Happy child of liberty. <br /> <br />Hunger never shall distress thee, <br />While my meals one crumb afford, <br />Colds and cramps shall ne'er oppress thee, <br />Come and share my humble board: <br />Robin, come and live with me, <br />Live, yet still at liberty. <br /> <br />Soon shall spring, with smiles and blushes, <br />Steal upon the blooming year; <br />Then, amid the verdant bushes, <br />Thy sweet song shall warble clear; <br />Then shall I too, joined with thee, <br />Taste the sweets of liberty. <br /> <br />Should some rough, unfeeling Dobbin, <br />In this iron-hearted age, <br />Seize thee on thy nest, my robin, <br />And confine thee in a cage; <br />Then, poor robin, think of me, <br />Think - and sigh for liberty. <br /> <br />Liberty! thou brightest treasure <br />In the crown of earthly joys, <br />Source of gladness, soul of pleasure, <br />All delights besides are toys: <br />None but prisoners like me <br />Know the worth of liberty.<br /><br />James Montgomery<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-prisoner-to-a-robin-who-came-to-his-window/
