Belated swallow, whither flying?
The day is dead, the light is dying,
The night draws near:
Where is thy nest, slow put together,
Soft-lined with moss and downy feather,
For shelter-place in stress of weather
And darkness drear?
Past, past, above the lighted city,
Unknowing of my wondering pity,
Seaward she flies.
Alas, poor bird! what rude awaking
Has driven thee forth, when storms are breaking,
And frightened gulls the waves forsaking
With warning cries?
Alas, my soul! while leaves are greenest
Thy heedless head thou fondly screenest
Beneath thy wing.
How bravely thou thy plumage wearest,-
How lightly thou life’s burthen bearest,-
How happily thy home preparest,-
In careless spring!
Yet Destiny the hour may bring thee
When none of all that sing can sing thee
To joy or rest!
When all the winds that blow shall blow thee;
And, ere the floods shall overflow thee,
The sunlight linger but to show thee
Thy shattered nest!
(Mary Hannay Foott)
More Poetry from Mary Hannay Foott:
Mary Hannay Foott Poems based on Topics: Past, Light, Soul, Death & Dying, Night, Cities, Spring, Birds, Cry, Stress, Weather- The Australiad (Mary Hannay Foott Poems)
- The Australiad - (A poem for children.) (Mary Hannay Foott Poems)
- The Melbourne Internationa (Mary Hannay Foott Poems)
- Watch-Night (Mary Hannay Foott Poems)
- The Future Of Australia (Mary Hannay Foott Poems)
- The Massacre Of The Bards (Mary Hannay Foott Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Light Poems, Death & Dying Poems, Soul Poems, Cry Poems, Birds Poems, Past Poems, Spring Poems, Cities Poems, Weather Poems, Flying PoemsBased on Keywords: wearest, bearest, shelter-place
- One Day And Another: A Lyrical Eclogue - Part V (Madison Julius Cawein Poems)
- An Old Tale Re-Told (Madison Julius Cawein Poems)
- An Oriental Apologue (James Russell Lowell Poems)
- The Song Of Hiawatha XII: The Son Of The Evening Star (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Poems)
- The Song Of Hiawatha XVII: The Hunting Of Pau-Puk Keewis (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Poems)