The songster

Emily Pauline Johnson 1861 – 1913



Music, music with throb and swing,
 Of a plaintive note, and long;
'Tis a note no human throat could sing,
No harp with its dulcet golden string,--
Nor lute, nor lyre with liquid ring,
 Is sweet as the robin's song.

He sings for love of the season
 When the days grow warm and long,
For the beautiful God-sent reason
 That his breast was born for song.

Calling, calling so fresh and clear,
 Through the song-sweet days of May;
Warbling there, and whistling here,
He swells his voice on the drinking ear,
On the great, wide, pulsing atmosphere
 Till his music drowns the day.

He sings for love of the season
 When the days grow warm and long,
For the beautiful God-sent reason
 That his breast was born for song.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

39 sec read
118

Quick analysis:

Scheme abaaab CBCB deffde CBCB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 719
Words 132
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 4, 6, 4

Emily Pauline Johnson

Emily Pauline Johnson Tekahionwake commonly known as E Pauline Johnson or just Pauline Johnson was a Canadian writer and performer popular in the late 19th century Pauline Johnson was notable for her poems and performances that celebrated her aboriginal heritage One such poem is the frequently anthologized The Song My Paddle Sings Her poetry was published in Canada the United States and Great Britain Johnson was one of a generation of widely read writers who began to define a Canadian national literature more…

All Emily Pauline Johnson poems | Emily Pauline Johnson Books

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