Classic Poem

On the walls that guard my prison,
Swelling with fantastic pride,
Brisk and merry as the season,
I a feather'd coxcomb spied:
When the little hopping elf
Gaily thus amused himself.

" Hear your sovereign's proclamation,
All good subjects, young and old:
I'm the Lord of the Creation;
I — a Water-Wagtail bold!
All around, and all you see,
All the world was made for ME !

" Yonder sun, so proudly shining,
Rises — when I leave my nest;
And, behind the hills declining,
Sets — when I retire to rest:
Morn and evening, thus you see,
Day and night, were made for ME !

" Vernal gales to love invite me;
Summer sheds for me her beams;
Autumn's jovial scenes delight me;
Winter paves with ice my streams;
All the year is mine, you see;
Seasons change, like moons, for ME !

" On the heads of giant mountains,
Or beneath the shady trees;
By the banks of warbling fountains,
I enjoy myself at ease:
Hills and valleys, thus you see,
Groves and rivers, made for ME !

" Boundless are my vast dominions;
I can hop, or swim, or fly;
When I please, my towering pinions
Trace my empire through the sky:
Air and elements, you see,
Heaven and earth, were made for ME !

" Birds and insects, beasts and fishes,
All their humble distance keep;
Man, subservient to my wishes,
Sows the harvest which I reap:
Mighty man himself, you see,
All that breathe, were made for ME !

" 'Twas for my accommodation,
Nature rose when I was born;
Should I die — the whole creation
Back to nothing would return:
Sun, moon, stars, the world, you see,
Sprung — exist, will fall with ME ! "

Here the pretty prattler, ending,
Spread his wings to soar away;
But a cruel Hawk descending,
Pounced him up — an helpless prey.
— Could'st thou not, poor Wagtail! see,
That the Hawk was made for THEE ?