Rain in the Bush

The steady soaking of the rain,
 The bush all sad and sombre;
 The trees are weeping in their pain,
 Dank leaves the ground encumber.  
  A dismal ghost of silence strays
 From shade to dusky daylight;
 O'er all a whispered horror weighs,
 Like mist athwart the grey light.  
  A frightened robin in the ferns
 Peeks fearfully and lonely,
 But back to comfort him returns
 The drip of rain-drops only.  
  The fern-fronds shiver when they feel
 Cold foot-prints press like mist, as
 Dim forms beneath the creepers steal
 And vanish in the vistas.