I love to see the little goldfinch pluck
The groundsel’s feather’d seed, and twit and twit,
And soon in bower of apple blossom perch’d,
Trim his gay suit, and pay us with a song;
I would not hold him prisoner for the world.
The chimney-haunting swallow, too, my eye
And ear well pleases. I delight to see
How suddenly he skims the glassy pool,
How quaintly dips, and with a bullet’s speed,
Whisks by. I love to be awake, and hear
His morning song twitter’d to dawning day.
But most of all it wins my admiration,
To view the structure of this little work,
A bird’s nest. Mark it well, within, without,
No tool had he that wrought, no knife to cut,
No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert,
No glue to join; his little beak was all,
And yet how neatly finish’d! What nice hand,
And every implement and means of art,
And twenty years’ apprenticeship to boot,
Could make me such another? Fondly then,
We boast of excellence, whose noblest skill
Instinctive genius foils.
The bee observe:
She too an artist is, and laughs at man,
Who calls on rules the sightly hexagon
With truth to form; a cunning architect,
Who at the roof begins her golden work,
And builds without foundation! How she toils,
And still from bud to bud, from flower to flower,
Travels the livelong day! Ye idle drones,
Who rather pilfer than your bread obtain
By honest means like these, behold and learn
How good, how fair, how honourable ’tis
To live by industry. The busy tribes
Of bees so emulous, are daily fed
With heaven’s peculiar manna. ‘Tis for them,
Unwearied alchymists, the blooming world
Nectarious gold distils. And bounteous Heaven,
Still to the diligent and active good,
Their very labour makes the certain cause
Of future wealth. The little traveller,
Who toils so cheerfully from flower to flower,
For ever singing as she goes, herself
Bears on her wings and thighs the genial dust
The barren blossom needs, and the young seed
Impregnates for herself, else unprolific.
(James Hurdis)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, World Poems, Youth Poems, Heaven Poems, Fairness Poems, Flowers Poems, Art Poems, Birds Poems, Money & Wealth Poems, Work & Career Poems, Future PoemsBased on Keywords: foils, twit, goldfinch, bodkin, implement, insert, whisks, apprenticeship, sightly, impregnates, groundsel