The works of Anacreon, Sappho, Bion, Moschus and Musæus

Fawkes, Francis (1720-1777)

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ODE XII. ON A SWALLOW.

Say, chattering Bird, that dar'st invade
My Slumbers with thy Serenade,
And steal'st my visionary Bliss,
How shall I punish thee for this?
Say, shall I clip thy soaring Wing;
Or, like stern Tereus, Thracian King,
To Swallows Name of dire Dismay,
Tear by the Roots thy Tongue away?

For, with thy execrable Scream,
Thou wak'st me from a golden Dream,

And from my Arms hast snatch'd away
Phyllis the fair, the young, the gay.

University of Virginia Library

ODE XII. ON A SWALLOW.