BIRD of the wilderness,
Blithesome and cumberless,
Sweet be thy matin o’er moorland and lea!
Emblem of happiness,
Blest is thy dwelling-place,—
O, to abide in the desert with thee!
Wild is thy lay and loud
Far in the downy cloud,
Love gives it energy, love gave it birth.
Where, on thy dewy wing...
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From “The Task,” Book I.
TEN thousand warblers cheer the day, and one
The livelong night: nor these alone, whose notes
Nice-fingered Art must emulate in vain,
But cawing rooks, and kites that swim sublime
In still repeated circles, screaming loud,
The jay, the pie, and ev’n the boding owl,
That hails the rising moon, have charms for men.... -
Good morrow to thy sable beak
And glossy plumage dark and sleek,
Thy crimson moon and azure eye,
Cock of the heath, so wildly shy:
I see thee slyly cowering through
That wiry web of silvery dew,
That twinkles in the morning air,
Like casements of my lady fair.A maid there is in yonder tower,
Who, peeping from her early... -
Occasioned by the Chirping of a Grasshopper
HAPPY insect! ever blest
With a more than mortal rest,
Rosy dews the leaves among,
Humble joys, and gentle song!
Wretched poet! ever curst
With a life of lives the worst,
Sad despondence, restless fears,
Endless jealousies and tears.
In the burning summer thou
Warblest... -
Occasioned by a Fly Drinking out of the Author’s Cup
BUSY, curious, thirsty fly,
Drink with me, and drink as I!
Freely welcome to my cup,
Couldst thou sip and sip it up:
Make the most of life you may;
Life is short and wears away!Both alike, both mine and thine,
Hasten quick to their decline!
Thine’s a summer; mine no... -
On Seeing One on a Lady’s Bonnet at Church
HA! whare ye gaun, ye crawlin’ ferlie?
Your impudence protects you sairly:
I canna say but ye strunt rarely
Owre gauze an’ lace;
Though, faith! I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place.Ye ugly, creepin’, blastit wonner,
Detested, shunned by saunt an’ sinner,
... -
On Turning Her up in Her Nest with the Plough, November, 1785
WEE, sleekit, cowerin’, timorous beastie,
O, what a panic ’s in thy breastie!
Thou needna start awa sae hasty,
Wi’ bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee,
Wi’ murdering pattle!I ’m truly sorry man’s dominion
Has broken nature’s... -
The Frugal snail, with forecast of repose,
Carries his house with him where’er he goes;
Peeps out,—and if there comes a shower of rain,
Retreats to his small domicile again.
Touch but a tip of him, a horn,—’t is well,—
He curls up in his sanctuary shell.
He ’s his own landlord, his own tenant; stay
Long as he will, he dreads no Quarter... -
Tiger! Tiger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?In what distant deeps or skies
Burned the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thine heart?... -
[In the spring of 1805, a young gentleman of talents, and of a most amiable disposition, perished by losing his way on the mountain Helvellyn. His remains were not discovered till three months afterwards, when they were found guarded by a faithful terrier, his constant attendant during frequent solitary rambles through the wilds of Cumberland and Westmoreland.]
I CLIMBED the dark...