The Poem

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O blithe New-comer! I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering Voice?
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.
Though babbling only to the Vale,
Of sunshine and of flowers,
Thou bringest unto me a tale
Of visionary hours.
Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!
Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing,
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
That golden time again.
O blessed Bird! the earth we pace
Again appears to be
An unsubstantial, faery place;
That is fit home for Thee!
[Note]
[Contents 1802]
[Main Contents]
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[2]
[3]

[A]

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[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

While I am lying on the grass,
I hear thy restless shout:
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
About, and all about!

Thy loud note smites my ear!—
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
At once far off and near!

Thy loud note smites my ear!
It seems to fill the whole air's space,
At once far off and near!

[Thy] twofold shout I hear,
That seems to fill the whole air's space,
As loud far off as near[a].

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