A Bird Came Down the Walk

A Bird came down the Walk— 

He did not know I saw— 

He bit an Angleworm 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 around— 

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.

~ Emily Dickinson