341

A Bird came down the Walk--

He did not know I saw--

He bit an Angle-worm in halves

And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a Dew

From a convenient Grass--

And then hopped sidewise to the Wall

To let a Beetle pass.--

He glanced with rapid eyes

That hurried all around—

They looked like frightened Beads, I thought--

He stirred his Velvet Head

Like one in danger; Cautious,

I offered him a Crumb

And he unrolled his feathers

And rowed him softer home--

Than oars divide the ocean,

Too silver for a seam,

Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,

Leap, plashless, as they swim.

--Emily Dickinson