Three by Tabb III

Poems by Father John Banister Tabb.

The Pine-Tree

With whispers of futurity
   And echoes of the past,
Twin birds a shelter find in thee
   Against the wintry blast—

The fledgling Hope, that preens her wing,
   Too timorous to fly,
And Memory, that comes to sing
   Her coronach and die.

(November 1892)

Wood-Grain

This is the way that the sap-river ran
From the root to the top of the tree—
   Silent and dark,
   Under the bark,
Working a wonderful plan
   That the leaves never know,
   And the branches that grow
On the brink of the tide never see.

(July 1901)

Winter Trees

Like champions of old,
   Their garments at their feet,
Defiant of the cold,
   The wrestling winds they meet;
Anon, if victors found,
   With vernal trophies crowned.

(1902)

The Poetry of Father Tabb (1928) pp. 27, 28f, 30.
ed. Francis A. Litz, Ph.D.

See also Three by Tabb II: Quatrains by Father John Banister Tabb.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sun. 01/25/04 08:26:38 AM
Categorized as Literary & Sunday Poetry Series.