On The Swallow (From The Greek)

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Attic maid! with honey fed,
Bear'st thou to thy callow brood
Yonder locust from the mead,
Destined their delicious food?

Ye have kindred voices clear,
Ye alike unfold the wing,
Migrate hither, sojourn here,
Both attendant on the spring!

Ah, for pity drop the prize;
Let it not with truth be said
That a songster gasps and dies,
That a songster may be fed.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

20 sec read
394

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABXB XCXC DADA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 352
Words 66
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

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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