Swallows

They dip their wings in the sunset,

They dash against the air

As if to break themselves upon its stillness:

In every movement, too swift to count,

Is a revelry of indecision,

A furtive delight in trees they do not desire

And in grasses that shall not know their weight.

They hover and lean toward the meadow

With little edged cries;

And then,

As if frightened at the earth’s nearness,

They seek the high austerity of evening sky

And swirl into its depth.

 

Credit

This poem is in the public domain.

About this Poem

“Swallows” was published in Speyer’s book A Canopic Jar (E. P. Dutton & Company, 1921).