Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE HUMMING-BIRD by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON

First Line: IS IT A MONSTER BEE
Last Line: INTO A MURMUROUS SOUND OF WINGS TOO SWIFT FOR SIGHT!
Subject(s): FLOWERS; HUMMINGBIRDS; MARIGOLDS; SUMMER; WINGS;

IS it a monster bee,
Or is it a midget bird,
Or yet an air-born mystery
That now the marigold has stirred,
And now on vocal wing
To a neighbor bloom is whirred,
In an aery ecstasy, in a passion of pilfering?

Ah! 'tis the humming-bird,
Rich-coated one,
Ruby-throated one,
That is not chosen for song,
But throws its whole rapt sprite
Into the secrets of flowers
The summer days along,
Into most odorous hours,
Into a murmurous sound of wings too swift for sight!



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