Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MOCKING-BIRD by RICHARD HOVEY

Poet Analysis

First Line: HEAR! HEAR! HEAR! / LISTEN! THE WORD
Last Line: FOR ALL HE PROMISES SO WELL.
Subject(s): MOCKINGBIRDS;
HEAR! hear! hear!
Listen! the word
Of the mocking-bird!
Hear! hear! hear!
I will make all clear;
I will let you know
Where the footfalls go
That through the thicket and over the hill
Allure, allure.
How the bird-voice cleaves
Through the weft of leaves
With a leap and a thrill
Like the flash of a weaver's shuttle, swift and sudden and sure!

And lo, he is gone -- even while I turn
The wisdom of his runes to learn.
He knows the mystery of the wood,
The secret of the solitude;
But he will not tell, he will not tell,
For all he promises so well.



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