Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79.

Laken

To a Bird that Haunted the Waters of Laken in the Winter

By Edward, Lord Thurlow (1781–1829)

O MELANCHOLY bird, a winter’s day,

Thou standest by the margin of the pool;

And, taught by God, dost thy whole being school

To patience, which all evil can allay:

God has appointed thee the fish thy prey;

And given thyself a lesson to the fool

Unthrifty, to submit to moral rule,

And his unthinking course by thee to weigh.

There need not schools nor the professor’s chair,

Though these be good, true wisdom to impart:

He who has not enough for these to spare

Of time or gold may yet amend his heart,

And teach his soul by brooks and rivers fair:

Nature is always wise in every part.