I HEARD A ROBIN SING

 

I HEARD A ROBIN SING Last night I heard a robin singing in the rain, And the raindrop’s patter made a sweet refrain, Making all the sweeter the music of the strain. So, I thought, when trouble comes, as trouble will, Why should I stop singing? Just beyond the hill It may be that sunshine floods the green world still. Those who face the trouble with a heart of cheer Make the burden lighter. If there falls a tear, Sweeter is the cadence in the song we hear. I have learned your lesson, bird with dappled wing, Listening to your music with its lilt of spring When the storm-cloud darkens, Then’s the TIME to sing. —Eben E. Rexford