The Oven Bird
BY ROBERT FROST
There is
a singer everyone has heard,
Loud, a
mid-summer and a mid-wood bird,
Who makes
the solid tree trunks sound again.
He says that
leaves are old and that for flowers
Mid-summer
is to spring as one to ten.
He says
the early petal-fall is past
When pear
and cherry bloom went down in showers
On sunny
days a moment overcast;
And comes
that other fall we name the fall.
He says
the highway dust is over all.
The bird
would cease and be as other birds
But that
he knows in singing not to sing.
The
question that he frames in all but words
Is what
to make of a diminished thing.
 |
| Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla Illustration by David Allen Sibley |
"In shady woods, this odd warbler walks with deliberate steps on the forest floor, holding its short tail cocked up higher than its back. Although it is not especially shy, its choice of habitat often makes it hard to observe; its ringing chant of teacher, teacher is heard far more often than the bird is seen. The name "Ovenbird" is a reference to the bird's nest, a domed structure with the entrance on the side, like an old-fashioned oven."
P.S. Thanks again, Pete!
CPW
No comments:
Post a Comment