Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/The Flicker
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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 whacks
Gave 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.
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 whacks
Gave 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.