Chapter CXCIII: The Whitethroat

Shy bird of the silver arrows of song,
That cleave our Northern air so clear,
Thy notes prolong, prolong,
I listen, I hear--
‘I love--dear--Canada,
Canada, Canada!’

O plumes of the pointed dusky fir,
Screen of a swelling patriot heart,
The copse is all astir
And echoes thy part!...

Now willowy reeds tune their silver flutes
As the noise of the day dies down;
And silence strings her lutes,
The Whitethroat to crown....

O bird of the silver arrows of song,
Shy poet of Canada dear,
Thy notes prolong, prolong,
We listen, we hear--
‘I--love--dear--Canada,
Canada, Canada!’

_Theodore Harding Rand._

CHRISTIE