Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry.
Volume V. Nature. 1904. | | | | VI. Animate Nature | | Unmusical Birds | | William Cowper (1731–1800) |
| | From “The Task,” Book I.
TEN thousand warblers cheer the day, and one | |
| The livelong night: nor these alone, whose notes | |
| Nice-fingered Art must emulate in vain, | |
| But cawing rooks, and kites that swim sublime | |
| In still repeated circles, screaming loud, | 5 |
| The jay, the pie, and ev’n the boding owl, | |
| That hails the rising moon, have charms for men. | |
| Sounds inharmonious in themselves and harsh, | |
| Yet heard in scenes where peace for ever reigns | |
| And only there, please highly for their sake. | 10 | | | |
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