The Bird and Baby

It was a cold, dark night,
When I fell asleep,
In an orchard green,
Beneath a willow tree.

And while I slumbered there,
On a bed of clover,
A girl with bright, brown hair,
Crept slowly over.

And I awoke to see before me,
An Angel of such splendor.
And as her hand moved to her lips,
She begged me silently go with her.

She took my hand,
And led me to a cottage.
Her kinfolk there,
Saw me in my dispondage.

My tale a grievous one,
I had few words to speak before them.
Of how a famine had,
Left me a wandering Orphan.

And they with kindness in their eyes,
Confirmed to me my life would be no struggle.
They took me as their son and vowed,
To never let me go and I was humbled.

And Aveline,
A girl beyond compare.
We spent our childhood days,
Roaming the country fare.

And as the years drew on,
And we were grown enough.
To my astonishment,
I found we were in love.

And then that starry night she leaned in close,
And said the words we felt in whisper.
I took her hand in mine, looked in her eyes,
And oh so tenderly I kissed her.

It was a starlit night,
When we fell asleep,
In an orchard green,
Beneath a willow tree.

-Taylor Glenn Pritchard