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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE FLOCKS by JAMES OPPENHEIM

First Line: ON A DOWNY FEATHER OF THE DOVE, EARTH, I LIE
Last Line: AND WHO IS THE GENTLE MASTER OF THE HOMING BIRDS?
Subject(s): BIRDS; MIGRATION;

ON A DOWNY feather of the dove, Earth, I lie:
The bird is flying down eternity.

Far out, and far under and over, the flocks of stars are flying as in the autumn winds ...
Whither are they winging? to what nests in what radiant South?
And what echoes of their songs come to me,
And who is the gentle master of the homing birds?



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