The steady soaking of the rain, The bush all sad and sombre; The trees are weeping in their pain, Dank leaves the ground encumber. A dismal ghost of silence strays From shade to dusky daylight; O'er all a whispered horror weighs, Like mist athwart the grey light. A frightened robin in the ferns Peeks fearfully and lonely, But back to comfort him returns The drip of rain-drops only. The fern-fronds shiver when they feel Cold foot-prints press like mist, as Dim forms beneath the creepers steal And vanish in the vistas.