THE BIRD-MAN

By William H. Davies

Man is a bird:

He rises on fine wings

Into the Heaven's clear light;

He flies away and sings —

There's music in his flight.

Man is a bird:

In swiftest speed he burns,

With twist and dive and leap;

A bird whose sudden turns

Can drive the frightened sheep.

Man is a bird:

Over the mountain high,

Whose head is in the skies,

Cut from its shoulder by

A cloud — the bird-man flies.

Man is a bird:

Eagles from mountain crag

Swooped down to prove his worth;

But now they rise to drag

Him down from Heaven to earth!