 | The wind in the trees |  |
9
CUCKOO'S WAY
Domestic birds to build the nest
May toil through April month and May,
And watch beside a brooding breast;
But that's not Master Cuckoo's way
May toil through April month and May,
And watch beside a brooding breast;
But that's not Master Cuckoo's way
He and his mistress, blithe as June,
Roam like a gypsy pair at play,
Grow gold and brown in sun and moon,
For that is still the Cuckoo's way.
Roam like a gypsy pair at play,
Grow gold and brown in sun and moon,
For that is still the Cuckoo's way.
‘Out on your nurseries!’ cries his wife;
‘One egg's enough for me to lay,
To plague the sober sparrow's life’;
For that is Mistress Cuckoo's way.
‘One egg's enough for me to lay,
To plague the sober sparrow's life’;
For that is Mistress Cuckoo's way.
10
She cares not for the helpless brood
Whom her bold son evicts one day,
Nor yellow beaks agape for food;
Oh, that's not Mistress Cuckoo's way!
Whom her bold son evicts one day,
Nor yellow beaks agape for food;
Oh, that's not Mistress Cuckoo's way!
This faithless pair, to duty blind,
Reproach still answering, blithe and gay,
Free lovers in the sun and wind,
For that is glad, the Cuckoo's way.
Reproach still answering, blithe and gay,
Free lovers in the sun and wind,
For that is glad, the Cuckoo's way.
Despite the moral saws you bring,
‘Cuckoo!’ 's their one excuse to say,
Flung from the golden throat of spring,
For that is sweet, the Cuckoo's way.
‘Cuckoo!’ 's their one excuse to say,
Flung from the golden throat of spring,
For that is sweet, the Cuckoo's way.
| The wind in the trees | |