William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909.
The Sparrows NestWilliam Wordsworth (17701850)
B
Those bright blue eggs together laid
On me the chance-discovered sight
Gleamed like a vision of delight.
I started—seeming to espy
The home and sheltered bed,
The Sparrow’s dwelling, which, hard by
My father’s house, in wet or dry
My Sister Emmeline and I
Together visited.
She looked at it and seemed to fear it;
Dreading, tho’ wishing to be near it:
Such heart was in her, being then
A little Prattler among men.
The Blessing of my later years
Was with me when a Boy:
She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;
And humble cares, and delicate fears;
A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;
And love, and thought, and joy.