My Doves
OPPOSITE my chamber window,
On the sunny
roof, at play,
High above
the city's tumult,
Flocks of
doves sit day by day.
Shining
necks and snowy bosoms,
Little rosy,
tripping feet,
Twinkling
eyes and fluttering wings,
Cooing
voices, low and sweet,--
Graceful
games and friendly meetings,
Do I daily
watch and see.
For these
happy little neighbors
Always seem
at peace to be.
On my
window-ledge, to lure them,
Crumbs of
bread I often strew,
And, behind
the curtain hiding,
Watch them
flutter to and fro.
Soon they
cease to fear the giver,
Quick are
they to feel my love,
And my alms
are freely taken
By the
shyest little dove.
In soft
flight, they circle downward,
Peep in
through the window-pane;
Stretch
their gleaming necks to greet me,
Peck and
coo, and come again.
Faithful
little friends and neighbors,
For no
wintry wind or rain,
Household
cares or airy pastimes,
Can my
loving birds restrain.
Other friends
forget, or linger,
But each day
I surely know
That my
doves will come and leave here
Little
footprints in the snow.
So, they
teach me the sweet lesson,
That the
humblest may give
Help and
hope, and in so doing,
Learn the
truth by which we live;
For the
heart that freely scatters
Simple
charities and loves,
Lures home
content, and joy, and peace,
Like a
soft-winged flock of doves.
Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888)
