Source: Project Gutenberg #136
Source URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/136
Public domain basis: Public-domain English poems by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885).
Coverage: Complete individual poem extracted from parent edition a-childs-garden-of-verses at bytes 41527-42509; checksum ffaed2000b521b72ba4e1f056671e6bf50d01266c889e4370ccfbb58d6e0c6db.


# Nest Eggs

Nest Eggs

  Birds all the sunny day
       Flutter and quarrel
  Here in the arbour-like
       Tent of the laurel.

  Here in the fork
       The brown nest is seated;
  Four little blue eggs
       The mother keeps heated.

  While we stand watching her
       Staring like gabies,
  Safe in each egg are the
       Bird's little babies.

  Soon the frail eggs they shall
       Chip, and upspringing
  Make all the April woods
       Merry with singing.

  Younger than we are,
       O children, and frailer,
  Soon in the blue air they'll be,
       Singer and sailor.

  We, so much older,
       Taller and stronger,
  We shall look down on the
       Birdies no longer.

  They shall go flying
       With musical speeches
  High overhead in the
       Tops of the beeches.

  In spite of our wisdom
       And sensible talking,
  We on our feet must go
       Plodding and walking.

                                            III