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Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900/Spring and Winter (i)

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For other versions of this work, see Spring (Shakespeare).
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)2707817Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900 — Spring and Winter (i)1931Arthur Quiller-Couch

Cuckoo, cuckoo!—O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!

When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
  And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks,
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
  And maidens bleach their summer smocks
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men; for thus sings he,
            Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!—O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!