Of the Cuckoo

John Bunyan 1628 (Elstow, Bedfordshire) – 1688 (London)



Thou booby, say'st thou nothing but cuckoo?
The robin and the wren can thee outdo.
They to us play thoróugh their little throats,
Not one, but sundry pretty tuneful notes.

But thou hast fellows, some like thee can do
Little but suck our eggs, and sing cuckoo.

Thy notes do not first welcome in our spring,
Not dost thou its first tokens to us bring.
Birds less than thee by far, like prophets, do
Tell us 'tis coming, though not by cuckoo.

Nor dost thou summer have away with thee,
Though thou a yawling, bawling cuckoo be.
When thou dost cease among us to appear,
Then doth our harvest bravely crown our year.

But thou hast fellows, some like thee can do
Little but suck our eggs, and sing cuckoo.

Since cuckoos forward not our early spring,
Nor help with notes to bring our harvest in:

And since while here she only makes a noise,
So pleasing unto none as girls and boys,
The formalist we may compare her to,
For he doth suck our eggs, and sing cuckoo.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 13, 2023

54 sec read
44

Quick analysis:

Scheme aabb AA ccaa ddee AA cx ffaa
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 948
Words 181
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 2, 4, 4, 2, 2, 4

John Bunyan

John Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher, who is well known for his book The Pilgrim's Progress. more…

All John Bunyan poems | John Bunyan Books

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    I wandered lonely as a _______ that floats on high o'er vales and hills
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