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 blessèd Bird! the earth we pace
Again appears to be 30
An unsubstantial, faery place;
That is fit home for Thee!
1. O BLITHE NEW-COMER. The Cuckoo is migratory, and appears in England in the early spring. Compare Solitary Reaper, l. 16.
I HAV HEARD. i.e., in my youth.
3. SHALL I CALL THEE BIRD? Compare Shelley.
Hail to thee, blithe spirit!
Bird thou never wert.
To a Skylark.
4. A WANDERING VOICE? Lacking substantial existence.
6. TWOFOLD SHOUT. Twofold, because consisting of a double note. Compare Wordsworth's sonnet, To the Cuckoo, l. 4:
"With its twin notes inseparably paired."