THOU who guidest the swallow and wren, Keep the paths of the flying men! Over the mountains, over the seas Thou hast given the bird-folk compasses. Thou guidest them, yea, Thou leadest them home By the trackless ways and the venturesome. Look Thou then on these bird-men, far More than the sparrows and swallows are. When they fly in the wintry weather Be their compass and chart together. Keep them riding the wind. Uphold Their passion of flight lest it grow cold. Thy right hand be under the wing, Thy left hand for their steadying. The wings of the birds of Heaven be nigh Lest their wings fail them and they die. Make Thou their flying as deft and fleet As the flight of the linnet or the blue tit. Thy hand over them, what shall appal? Not the fierce foe nor the sudden fall. Show them Thy moon at night: Thy stars Bid stand as sentinels in their wars. Yea, make their lone tracks pleasant as A soft meandering path in grass. Thou that launchest the wren, the swallow, Guard our flying loves when they follow. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BEGGAR'S OPERA: SONG. AIR 16: OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY by JOHN GAY ODES: BOOK 2: ODE 5. ON LOVE OF PRAISE by MARK AKENSIDE THE BROTHERS OF BIRCHINGTON; A LAY OF ST. THOMAS A BECKET by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM CASSANDRA by RICHARD BARNFIELD MATRIMONIAL MELODIES: 3. SYSTEM by BERTON BRALEY THE CLAIM OF KINDRED by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON A ROSARY by CHARLES W. E. CHAPIN JR. TEMPEST-TOST by GEORGE HERBERT CLARKE EPITAPH ON MR. THOMAS STRONG, WHO DIED ON 26 DECEMBER 1736 by NATHANIEL COTTON |