The Departure of the Swallow. William Howitt (1792-1879). VI. Animate Nature. Bliss Carman, et al., eds. 1904. The World's Best Poetry. V. Nature

Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry.
Volume V. Nature. 1904.

VI. Animate Nature

The Departure of the Swallow

William Howitt (1792–1879)


AND is the swallow gone?
Who beheld it?
Which way sailed it?
Farewell bade it none?

No mortal saw it go;—	5
But who doth hear
Its summer cheer
As it flitteth to and fro?

So the freed spirit flies!
From its surrounding clay	10
It steals away
Like the swallow from the skies.

Whither? wherefore doth it go?
’T is all unknown;
We feel alone	15
That a void is left below.