Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
VI. Animate NatureThe Departure of the Swallow
William Howitt (17921879)A
Who beheld it?
Which way sailed it?
Farewell bade it none?
But who doth hear
Its summer cheer
As it flitteth to and fro?
From its surrounding clay
It steals away
Like the swallow from the skies.
’T is all unknown;
We feel alone
That a void is left below.