21 January 2026

The Bird in the Tree (Ruth Pitter)

The tree, and its haunting bird,
  Are the loves of my heart;
But where is the word, the word,
  Oh where is the art,

To say, or even to see,
  For a moment of time,
What the Tree and the Bird must be
  In the true sublime?

They shine, listening to the soul,
  And the soul replies;
But the inner love is not whole,
  and the moment dies.

Oh give me before I die
  The grace to see
With eternal, ultimate eye,
  The Bird and the Tree.

The song in the living Green,
  The Tree and the Bird -
Oh have they ever been seen,
  Ever been heard?