Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing, [3] 15
A voice, a mystery;
The same whom in my school-boy days
I listened to; that Cry
Which made me look a thousand ways
In bush, and tree, and sky.
No bird, but an invisible thing, [3] 15
A voice, a mystery;
The same whom in my school-boy days
I listened to; that Cry
Which made me look a thousand ways
In bush, and tree, and sky.
William Wordsworth
1828),
Wordsworth says that his substitution of the text of 1827 for that of
1807, was due to the objections of Coleridge. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
TO THE CUCKOO
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[Composed in the Orchard at Town-end, 1804. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Imagination. "--Ed.
O blithe New-comer! I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering Voice? [A]
While I am lying on the grass 5
Thy twofold shout I hear,
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
At once far off, and near. [1]
Though babbling only to the Vale,
Of sunshine and of flowers, 10
Thou bringest unto me a tale [2]
Of visionary hours.
Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!
Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing, [3] 15
A voice, a mystery;
The same whom in my school-boy days
I listened to; that Cry
Which made me look a thousand ways
In bush, and tree, and sky. 20
To seek thee did I often rove
Through woods and on the green;
And thou wert still a hope, a love;
Still longed for, never seen.
And I can listen to thee yet; 25
Can lie upon the plain
And listen, till I do beget
That golden time again.
O blessed Bird! the earth we pace
Again appears to be 30
An unsubstantial, faery place;
That is fit home for Thee!
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
While I am lying on the grass,
I hear thy restless shout:
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
About, and all about! 1807.
Thy loud note smites my ear! --
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
At once far off and near! 1815.
Thy loud note smites my ear!
It seems to fill the whole air's space,
At once far off and near! 1820.
Thy twofold shout I hear,
That seems to fill the whole air's space,
As loud far off as near. [a] 1827.
Wordsworth says that his substitution of the text of 1827 for that of
1807, was due to the objections of Coleridge. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
TO THE CUCKOO
Composed 1802. --Published 1807
[Composed in the Orchard at Town-end, 1804. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of the Imagination. "--Ed.
O blithe New-comer! I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering Voice? [A]
While I am lying on the grass 5
Thy twofold shout I hear,
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
At once far off, and near. [1]
Though babbling only to the Vale,
Of sunshine and of flowers, 10
Thou bringest unto me a tale [2]
Of visionary hours.
Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!
Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing, [3] 15
A voice, a mystery;
The same whom in my school-boy days
I listened to; that Cry
Which made me look a thousand ways
In bush, and tree, and sky. 20
To seek thee did I often rove
Through woods and on the green;
And thou wert still a hope, a love;
Still longed for, never seen.
And I can listen to thee yet; 25
Can lie upon the plain
And listen, till I do beget
That golden time again.
O blessed Bird! the earth we pace
Again appears to be 30
An unsubstantial, faery place;
That is fit home for Thee!
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1845.
While I am lying on the grass,
I hear thy restless shout:
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
About, and all about! 1807.
Thy loud note smites my ear! --
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
At once far off and near! 1815.
Thy loud note smites my ear!
It seems to fill the whole air's space,
At once far off and near! 1820.
Thy twofold shout I hear,
That seems to fill the whole air's space,
As loud far off as near. [a] 1827.
