The Classic Lark

Farewell, sweet bird, so winsome and so wise!
Though the blue heavens were native to thy flight,
My desk and papers seem'd thy prime delight,
Those odes, and epics, and anthologies!
Methinks, thou wert so fond of ancient lore,
A classic welcome in the shades below
Awaits thee, now thy learned life is o'er:
To fair Elysian meadows thou shalt go,
A happy region, void of rain and storm;
But when the Stygian boatman chirps to thee
Thy wings expand, thy buoyant heart rebels:
High over Styx I see thy twinkling form;
I hear old Charon shouting for his fee,
While thou art poised above the asphodels!