A TREE WITH A BIRD IN IT: A RHYMED REVIEW

It seems that Margaret Widdemer

Possessed a Tree with a Bird in it,

And being human, prone to err,

Thought 'twould be pleasant to begin it,

Or christen it, as one might say,

By asking poets closely herded

To come around and spend the day

And sing of what the Tree and Bird did.

(Poor girl! When next she takes her pen

Some bromide critic's sure to say,

"Don't dare do serious work again—

This stuff is your true métier!")

No sooner said than done; the bards

Rush out in quantities surprising,

And, overflowing four front yards

They carol till the moon is rising;

With ardor, or, as some say, "pash,"

In song kind or satirical,

Asking, apparently, no cash,

They make their offerings lyrical.

I'd be the first a spear to break

For Poesy; but this to tackle ...

It seems a lot of fuss to make

About one Tree and one small Grackle.