 | The poetical works of William H. C. Hosmer |  |
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THE KINGFISHER.
“The blue Kingfisher's eager scream,
Watching the wake of perch or bream.”
Watching the wake of perch or bream.”
Poetic haunts are thine,
Bird of the snowy ruff and saucy crest!
Plunging in streams that hurry to the brine,
And lakes of azure breast:
Bird of the snowy ruff and saucy crest!
Plunging in streams that hurry to the brine,
And lakes of azure breast:
And by the mill-pond's edge
Full oft, when strolling, I have heard thy cry,
And marked thee, over water-flag and sedge,
Speed on thine errand by.
Full oft, when strolling, I have heard thy cry,
And marked thee, over water-flag and sedge,
Speed on thine errand by.
Supported in mid-air,
Above the river by thy humming wings,
How flames thy glance while trout its bosom fair
Break into widening rings!
Above the river by thy humming wings,
How flames thy glance while trout its bosom fair
Break into widening rings!
Amid bright scenes like these,
The days of thy wild life begin and end,
Seldom a wanderer from the dry old trees
That o'er the waters bend.
The days of thy wild life begin and end,
Seldom a wanderer from the dry old trees
That o'er the waters bend.
Did not thy belt of blue
Catch from the sky-reflecting wave a stain,
And the white gorget round thy neck its hue
From foam-bells woke by rain?
Catch from the sky-reflecting wave a stain,
And the white gorget round thy neck its hue
From foam-bells woke by rain?
Thy voice is like in sound
The twirling of a watchman's rattle loud,
When grisly danger meets him on his round,
Beneath night's leaden cloud.
The twirling of a watchman's rattle loud,
When grisly danger meets him on his round,
Beneath night's leaden cloud.
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Could not the brook and rill,
Ever thy loved companions, tune thy throat
To softer utterance—teaching thee to still
That harsh alarum-note?
Ever thy loved companions, tune thy throat
To softer utterance—teaching thee to still
That harsh alarum-note?
Thy favorite fishing-ground
Is where dead trees make desolate the strand,
And otter-tracks are by the trapper found
Upon the yielding sand.
Is where dead trees make desolate the strand,
And otter-tracks are by the trapper found
Upon the yielding sand.
The torrent's angry roar
To thee, wild creature, is a sound of joy,
While keeping vigil nigh the rocky shore,
Some victim to destroy.
To thee, wild creature, is a sound of joy,
While keeping vigil nigh the rocky shore,
Some victim to destroy.
There with keen, restless eyes
I have beheld thee perched, half-hid in spray;
Then, with a sudden plunge, thy finny prize
Secure, and bear away.
I have beheld thee perched, half-hid in spray;
Then, with a sudden plunge, thy finny prize
Secure, and bear away.
Thine undulating flight
Mimics the billow in its rise and fall;
Mad rapids are more pleasing to thy sight
Than the grove's leafy hall.
Mimics the billow in its rise and fall;
Mad rapids are more pleasing to thy sight
Than the grove's leafy hall.
Art thou the bird of eld
That built its nest upon the cradling deep,
Owning a charm when wind and wave rebelled,
To hush them into sleep?—
That built its nest upon the cradling deep,
Owning a charm when wind and wave rebelled,
To hush them into sleep?—
The Halcyon of Song,
Whose plume was deemed a talisman to guard
The fortunate possessor from all wrong
By seer and fabling bard?
Whose plume was deemed a talisman to guard
The fortunate possessor from all wrong
By seer and fabling bard?
I know not, but the Past,
When I behold thee, bird, her face unveils,
And back on busy recollection, fast
Crowd old, romantic tales.
When I behold thee, bird, her face unveils,
And back on busy recollection, fast
Crowd old, romantic tales.
| The poetical works of William H. C. Hosmer | |