LITTLE bird of dusty brown, Why do you stay here in town, In the noise and dirt and heat Hopping in the ugly street? Other songsters choose to go Where the grass and clovers grow, Where the dew is on the hill And the shady woods are still; Where the baby rivers skip, And the cool green mosses drip. There to-morrow I shall be! Sparrow, do you envy me? Saucy bird, alert and quick, Lingering on stone and brick -- Little children linger too, Who perhaps are fond of you; Pale and pitiful to see, Sick and sorry too, maybe. They can dream, but never stray Where the ferns and daisies play. All the sultry summer through They will hear no bird but you, Cheap and common, sharp and shrill, Chirping, chirping, chirping still, Picking bugs and crumbs and things. Yet -- you have the gift of wings! They can see you dart and fly Free and high to tree and sky -- Only little comrade given Who can bring them news of heaven! Sparrow, though I run away, Is that why you choose to stay? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PROVING by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE SONG OF THE MAD WOMAN'S SON by KAREN SWENSON HOPE AND FEAR by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE OPEN MY EYES by ALICE E. BAILEY MIDNIGHT by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN THE SECRET by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN HINC LACHRIMAE; OR THE AUTHOR TO AURORA: 7 by WILLIAM BOSWORTH |