James Montgomery

The tall Oak, towering to the skies,
The fury of the wind defies,
From age to age, read more

The tall Oak, towering to the skies,
The fury of the wind defies,
From age to age, in virtue strong.
Inured to stand, and suffer wrong.

Nearest the throne itself must be
The footstool of humility.

Nearest the throne itself must be
The footstool of humility.

Blue thou art, intensely blue;
Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?

Blue thou art, intensely blue;
Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?

Nimbly they seized and secreted their prey,
Alive and wriggling in the elastic net,
Which Nature hung read more

Nimbly they seized and secreted their prey,
Alive and wriggling in the elastic net,
Which Nature hung beneath their grasping beaks;
Till, swoln, with captures, the unwieldy burden
Clogg'd their slow flight, as heavily to land,
These mighty hunters of the deep return'd.
There on the cragged cliffs they perch'd at ease,
Gorging their hapless victims one by one;
Then full and weary, side by side, they slept,
Till evening roused them to the chase again.

Nature's prime favourites were the Pelicans;
High-fed, long-lived, and sociable and free.

Nature's prime favourites were the Pelicans;
High-fed, long-lived, and sociable and free.