Poem by Henry Livingston

To My Little Niece Sally Livingston

To my little niece Sally Livingston, on the death of a little serenading wren she admired.


Hasty pilgrim stop thy pace
Turn a moment to this place
Read what pity hath erected
To a songster she respected.
Little minstrel all is o’er
Never will thy chirpings more
Soothe the heavy heart of care
Or dispel the darkness there.
I have known thee e’er the sun
Hath on yonder mountain shone;
E’er the sky-lark hath ascended,
Or the thrush her throat distended;
Cheerful trill thy little ditty
As the singer, blithe and pretty.
Labour stood, half bent to hear,
Study lent a list’ning ear,
Dissipation stop’d a while,
Grief was even seen to smile,
Ambition - but the gushing tear
O’erwhelms the stone and stops me here.

1. To the Memory of Sarah Livingston
2. Acknowledgement
3. Catharine Breese Livingston
4. Careless Philosopher’s Soliloquy
5. The Vine & Oak

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