| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895. |
| |
| The Departure of the Swallow |
| | | William Howitt (1792–1879) |
| |
| |
| AND is the swallow gone? | |
| Who beheld it? | |
| Which way sail’d it? | |
| Farewell bade it none? | |
| |
| No mortal saw it go: | 5 |
| But who doth hear | |
| Its summer cheer | |
| As it flitteth to and fro? | |
| |
| So the freed spirit flies! | |
| From its surrounding clay | 10 |
| It steals away | |
| Like the swallow from the skies. | |
| |
| Whither? wherefore doth it go? | |
| ’T is all unknown: | |
| We feel alone | 15 |
| That a void is left below. | |
| |
|
|
|
