Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SWALLOW, by JOHN BANISTER TABB Poet's Biography First Line: Skim o'er the tide Last Line: That woos all nature to her silent rest. Alternate Author Name(s): Father Tabb Subject(s): Swallows | ||||||||
SKIM o'er the tide, And from thy pinions fling The sparkling water-drops, Sweet child of spring! Bathe in the dying sunshine warm and bright, Till ebbs the last receding wave of light. Swift glides the hour, But what its flight to thee? Thine own is fleeter far; E'en now to me Thou seem'st upon futurity anon To beckon thence the tardy present on. The eye in vain Pursues, with subtle glance, Thy dim, delirious course Through heaven's expanse: Vanished thy form upon the wings of thought, Ere yet its place the lagging vision caught. Again thou rt here, A slanting arrow sent From yon fair-tinted bow, In promise bent; As when, erewhile, the gentle bird of love Poised her white wing the new-born land above. A seeming shade, Scarce palpable in form, Yet thine, alas, the change Of calm and storm! The veering passions of my stronger soul Alike the throbbings of thy heart control. For day is done, And cloyed of long delight, Like me thou welcomest The sober night; Like me, aweary, sinkest on that breast, That woos all nature to her silent rest. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SIXTH-MONTH SONG IN THE FOOTHILLS by GARY SNYDER SWALLOW FLIGHT by SARA TEASDALE EACH SUMMER'S SWALLOWS by JOHN UPDIKE THE DEPARTURE OF THE SWALLOW by WILLIAM HOWITT THE BLUE SWALLOWS by HOWARD NEMEROV THE CLIFF SWALLOWS by DEBRA NYSTROM ANONYMOUS by JOHN BANISTER TABB |
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