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The Fern Song

John Bannister Tabb

Dance to the beat of the rain, little Fern,
And spread out your palms again,
  And say, “Tho’ the Sun
  Hath my vesture spun,
He hath labored, alas, in vain,
  But for the shade
  That the Cloud hath made,
And the gift of the Dew and the Rain.”
  Then laugh and upturn
  All your fronds, little Fern,
And rejoice in the beat of the rain!

Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From Required Poems for Reading and Memorizing: Third and Fourth Grades, Prescribed by State Courses of Study | 1920

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