A Bird, came down the Walk —

He did not know I saw —

He bit an Angle Worm in halves

And ate the fellow, raw,

And then, he drank a Dew

From a convenient Grass —

And then hopped sidewise to the Wall

To let a Beetle pass —

He glanced with rapid eyes,

That hurried all abroad —

They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,

He stirred his Velvet Head. —

Like one in danger, Cautious,

I offered him a Crumb,

And he unrolled his feathers,

And rowed him softer Home —

Than Oars divide the Ocean,

Too silver for a seam,

Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,

Leap, plashless as they swim.

QUESTION: How does the final stanza contribute to the development of the poem’s theme?