"Yet tell me once before we part, Why need we part who part in pain? If flowers must blossom on the sea, Why, we shall never meet again. "My cheeks are paler than a rose, My tears are salter than the main, My heart is like a lump of ice If we must never meet again." "Oh weep or laugh, but let me be, And live or die, for all's in vain; For life's in vain since we must part, And parting must not meet again "Till windflowers blossom on the sea, And fishes skim along the plain; Pale rose of roses let me be, Your breaking heart breaks mine again." BUDS AND BABIES. A million buds are born that never blow, That sweet with promise lift a pretty head To blush and wither on a barren bed And leave no fruit to show. Sweet, unfulfilled. Yet have I understood One joy, by their fragility made plain: Nothing was ever beautiful in vain, Or all in vain was good. BOY JOHNNY. "If you'll busk you as a bride And make ready, It's I will wed you with a ring, O fair lady." "Shall I busk me as a bride, I so bonny, For you to wed me with a ring, O boy Johnny?" "When you've busked you as a bride And made ready, Who else is there to marry you, O fair lady?" "I will find my lover out, I so bonny, And you shall bear my wedding-train, O boy Johnny." FREAKS OF FASHION. Such a hubbub in the nests, Such a bustle and squeak! Nestlings, guiltless of a feather, Learning just to speak, Ask--"And how about the fashions?" From a cavernous beak. Perched on bushes, perched on hedges, Perched on firm hahas, Perched on anything that holds them, Gay papas and grave mammas Teach the knowledge-thirsty nestlings: Hear the gay papas. Robin says: "A scarlet waistcoat Will be all the wear, Snug, and also cheerful-looking For the frostiest air, Comfortable for the chest too When one comes to plume and pair." "Neat gray hoods will be in vogue," Quoth a Jackdaw: "Glossy gray, Setting close, yet setting easy, Nothing fly-away; Suited to our misty mornings, _A la negligée_." Flushing salmon, flushing sulphur, Haughty Cockatoos Answer--"Hoods may do for mornings, But for evenings choose High head-dresses, curved like crescents, Such as well-bred persons use." "Top-knots, yes; yet more essential Still, a train or tail," Screamed the Peacock: "Gemmed and lustrous Not too stiff, and not too frail; Those are best which rearrange as Fans, and spread or trail." Spoke the Swan, entrenched behind An inimitable neck: "After all, there's nothing sweeter For the lawn or lake Than simple white, if fine and flaky And absolutely free from speck."