A First Series of Hymns and Songs/Descriptive Songs/The Shepherd's Song
For works with similar titles, see The Shepherd's Song.
7. The Shepherd's Song.
My banks they are furnished with bees,
Whose murmur invites one to sleep;
My grottoes are shaded with trees.
And my hills are white over with sheep.
I seldom have met with a loss,
Such health do my fountains bestow;
My fountains all bordered with moss,
Where the hare-bell and violet grow.
Not a pine in my grove is there seen,
But with tendrils of woodbine is bound;
Not a beech's more beautiful green,
But a sweet briar entwines it around.
Not my fields in the prime of the year
More charms than my cattle unfold;
Not a brook that is limpid and clear,
But it glitters with fishes of gold.