I Heard A Bird Sing

I heard a bird sing

  In the dark of December.

A magical thing

  And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring

  Than we were in September,"

I heard a bird sing

  In the dark of December.

-- Oliver Herford (1863 - 1935), American humorous poet and illustrator, "I Heard a Bird Sing" from Welcome Christmas! A Garland of Poems (Viking Press, 1955)