Lyrics of the Hearthside
Thou Art My Lute
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Thou art my life, by thee I live,
Thou art my life, by thee I live,
The poet reflects on the world at noon, while laying back and dozing.
"Because I had loved so deeply,"
"A blue–bell springs upon the ledge,"
The poet wonders about the wind.
A man and woman wish for a child. One winter they decide to create a snow child, and are shocked to see their creation miraculously come to life. They treat the child, Snowflake, as their own and shower her with love and affection. Unfortunately the arrival of spring brings changes that cause unhappiness.
A child observes the many sites that adorn the Indian River.
Tommy Stubbins tells about his life in Puddleby-on-the-Marsh and his three friends, Joe, Matthew Mugg, and Luke.
Oh, summer has clothed the earth
"Darling, my darling, my heart is on the wing,"
"The little bird sits in the nest and sings"
"Wen I git up in de mo’nin’ an’ de clouds is big an’ black,"
"At the golden gate of song"
The wind off the Florida Shore touches every part of the landscape.
"An old, worn harp that had been played"
A man who loved the Nightingale’s song set a trap for it and captured it. Since nightingales never sing in cages the man decided to eat it. The Nightingale bargained not to be eaten and to be set free. In return he would tell the man 3 things far bettter than eating him.
"Wintah, summah, snow er shine,"
"‘Tis fine to play, In the fragrant hay,"
The adventures of the angel fish are imagined.
So bashful when I spied her
She died, — this was the way she died;
A sing-song poem that focuses on three sisters dancing and then two mourning for the third.
Barton Park is a very open and elegant home, and Sir John and his wife are never without a good many guests. Mrs. Jennings and Colonel Brandon are introduced and described.