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
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,
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]
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.
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;
Can lie upon the plain
And listen, till I do beget
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THE POETICAL WORKS OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH - VOL. 2 (Completed)
ClassicsThe poetical works of William Wordsworth, edited by William Knight.