Lyrics of the Hearthside
In Summer
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Oh, summer has clothed the earth
Oh, summer has clothed the earth
The author celebrates the colorful history of pirates in Florida.
Mr. Peck passes away.
"The little bird sits in the nest and sings"
The Toyman makes the three children whistles from a weeping willow and they serve as a bird call for Orioles.
"At the golden gate of song"
A short story about a caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly.
We play at paste
FROM dark abodes to fair etherial light
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.
"The November sun invites me,"
"Wintah, summah, snow er shine,"
"‘Tis fine to play, In the fragrant hay,"
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.
"If Death should claim me for her own to–day,"
A child observes the many sites that adorn the Indian River.
The author admires the nature along the banks of the Oklawaha River.
"De da’kest hour, dey allus say,"
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.