|ELCore.Net > Poetry > Catholic Poets > Poems of Alice Meynell|
|The Voice of a Bird|
“He shall rise up at the voice of a bird.”Ecclesiastes
Who then is “he”?|
Dante, Keats, Shakespeare, Milton, Shelley; all
Rose in their greatness at the shrill decree,
The little rousing inarticulate call.
For they stood up|
At the bird-voice, of lark, of nightingale,
Drank poems from that throat as from a cup.
Over the great world’s notes did these prevail.
And not alone|
The signal poets woke. In listening man,
Woman, and child a poet stirs unknown,
Throughout the Mays of birds since Mays began.
He rose, he heard|
Our father, our St. Peter, in his tears
The crowing, twice, of the prophetic bird,
The saddest cock-crow of our human years.
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|Webpage © 2001 ELC
Lane Core Jr. (email@example.com)
Created April 14, 2001; not revised.