THE SINGING GARDEN

The Dusky Wood-Swallow

Surely must you know me,
      Friendly and content;
  All my actions show me
      Freely confident;
  With my band of toilers,
      When the blue days smile;
  Little Jacky Martin
      Come to stay a while.

Every  town and village
      Knows me; every farm,
  Mine no wish to pillage,
      Mine no will to harm;
  Busy in the orchard,
      My pest-destroying band;
  Little Jacky Martin
      Come to lend a hand.

Suddenly  appearing
      In far forest land—
  When you’ve cut a clearing,
      Lo, I am at hand,
  Wheeling, soaring, floating,
      Where the new fields bask;
  Little Jacky Martin
      Come to aid the task.

In the chilly weather
      See us in the trees,
  Huddled close together
      Like the swarming bees.
  A-wing again and toiling
      When the chill days end;
  Little Jacky Martin,
      Everybody’s friend.

Autumn