A bonny bird I saw when I did rove The far field through: it had a broken wing, (Perhaps some sport a cruel stone did fling) And fluttered on the ground and madly strove To cleave the air, for at a short remove A choir of birds did in the bushes sing; And winds with wooing voice to it did bring A message to escape into the grove And swing to rest. Just then there came a thought,— That sometimes unto cabined lives are borne Sounds from the world outside, and voices call, As to this bird, to those who in the thrall Of Fate may seem to be. Some sit and mourn; Some soar in soul,—contented with their lot. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A MAN'S VOCATION IS NOBODY'S BUSINESS by JAMES GALVIN THE MOTHER by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON RAHEL TO VARNHAGEN by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON MARCO BOZZARIS by FITZ-GREENE HALLECK AN AUGUST MIDNIGHT by THOMAS HARDY THE COMING STORM' (A PICTURE BY R. S. GIFFORD) by HERMAN MELVILLE THE CHALLENGE by ALEXANDER POPE AN ELEGIE, OR FRIENDS PASSION, FOR HIS ASTROPHILL by MATTHEW ROYDEN |