Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/The Flicker
THE FLICKER
Gay crested tenant of the deep wild woods,Oft have I heard thee wake these solitudes Where quiet loves to dwell, with lightning stroke, (Holding with clinging claws to elm or oak,)Until the echoes of thy sturdy whacksGave back a sound like to the woodsman's axe; While thou didst drive thy beak, with point like steel, Deep in the wood to find thy morning meal.