A REED.




I.

I AM no trumpet, but a reed:
No flattering breath shall from me lead
A silver sound, a hollow sound!
I will not ring, for priest or king,
One blast that, in re-echoing,
Would leave a bondsman faster bound.


II.

I am no trumpet, but a reed,—
A broken reed, the wind indeed
Left flat upon a dismal shore:
Yet if a little maid, or child,
Should sigh within it, earnest-mild,
This reed will answer evermore.


III.

I am no trumpet, but a reed:
Go, tell the fishers, as they spread
Their nets along the river's edge,—
I will not tear their nets at all,
Nor pierce their hands—if they should fall:
Then let them leave me in the sedge.


This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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