On A Goldfinch, Starved To Death In His Cage

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Time was when I was free as air,
The thistle's downy seed my fare,
My drink the morning dew;
I perch'd at will on every spray,
My form genteel, my plumage gay,
My strains for ever new.
But gaudy plumage, sprightly strain,
And form genteel were all in vain,
And of a transient date;
For, caught and caged, and starved to death,
In dying sighs my little breath
Soon pass’d the wiry grate.
Thanks, gentle swain, for all my woes,
And thanks for this effectual close
And cure of every ill!
More cruelty could none express;
And I, if you had shown me less,
Had been your prisoner still.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
93

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABCCBDDEFFEGHIJJI
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 573
Words 111
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 18

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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