The Departure of the Swallow

by William Howitt English

And is the swallow gone?     Who beheld it?     Which way sailed it? Farewell bade it none? No mortal saw it go;—     But who doth hear     Its summer cheer As it flitteth to and fro? So the freed spirit flies!     From its surrounding clay     It steals away Like the swallow from the skies. Whither? wherefore doth it go?     ’T is all unknown;     We feel alone That a void is left below.

More poems by William Howitt

All poems by William Howitt →