 | A book of Bristol sonnets |  |
87
THE FIRST SWALLOW,
SEEN, APRIL 10, ON THE BANKS OF THE FROME.
Not first I found thee on the breezy down,Thou swift companion of the nimble air,
Nor knew thee graceful in the freshening square,
On the sooty edges of the town,
With sun and health from far savannahs blown!
What angel met, and made thy quick mind ware
Of garret woes, dark alleys in despair,
That thou, physician, hitherwards hast flown?
The sickly child, behind the frouzy pane,
May see thee pass, and cry a joyful cry;
The old man, counting on his summer's gain,
Leap at thy message as thou flickerest by;
Starved mothers smile to mind the village lane;
For thou art true, though love has turned a lie.
| A book of Bristol sonnets | |