SUPERB and sole, upon a plumed spray That o'er the general leafage boldly grew, He summ'd the woods in song; or typic drew The watch of hungry hawks, the lone dismay Of languid doves when long their lovers stray, And all birds' passion-plays that sprinkle dew At morn in brake or bosky avenue. Whate'er birds did or dreamed, this bird could say. Then down he shot, bounced airily along The sward, twitched in a grasshopper, made song Midflight, perched, prinked, and to his art again. Sweet Science, this large riddle read me plain: How may the death of that dull insect be The life of yon trim Shakespeare on the tree? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MARSEILLAISE by CLAUDE JOSEPH ROUGET DE LISLE THE CALL OF THE WILD by ROBERT WILLIAM SERVICE THE LOW-DOWN WHITE by ROBERT WILLIAM SERVICE JOHN BROWN OF OSAWATOMIE [OCTOBER 16, 1859] by EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN CHARACTERS: JOHN AIKEN by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD |