Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE TWO SPARROWS, by ANONYMOUS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE TWO SPARROWS, by                    
First Line: "two sparrows, votaries of love"
Last Line: The ills that kindness fails to cure!
Subject(s): Sparrows


TWO sparrows, votaries of Love,
The Mars and Venus of the grove,
Had been, for years, such constant mates,
You would have sworn the very Fates
Were impotent to break the bond
That joined a pair so true and fond.
Together still they sought their food;
Together played in field or wood;
Together built the cosey nest
That served for shelter and for rest;
Together fought the feathered foes
With whom they came to words or blows;
In fine, they lived, as lovers ought,
Without a single selfish thought,
Save such as might concern the twain,
Their mutual joy or mutual pain.
At last, one day, they chanced to get
Their feet entangled in a net,
(A vagrant boy had spread the snare
To catch and keep the pretty pair!)
And soon, despite their noisy rage,
They both were prisoned in a cage;
Where -- much I grieve the tale to tell --
A sorry scandal now befell:
They scold, recriminate, and fight,
Like arrant foes, from morn till night;
Until, at length, the wretched birds
In cruel acts and bitter words
The very furies emulate, --
And all their love is turned to hate!

L'ENVOI.

Full many a couple come to strife
And hatred in connubial life,
Whose days of courtship promised fair
As those of this unhappy pair;
But, like the sparrows in my tale,
When trouble comes, their tempers fail;
They blame each other for the fate
Which both should strive to mitigate;
With patience helping to endure
The ills that kindness fails to cure!





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