The Jackdaw, by : William Cowper
Jackdoors at Kells Priory, County Kilkenny
Irish Wildlife Photography : Nigel Borrington
The Jackdaw
by : William Cowper
There is a bird who, by his coat
And by the hoarseness of his note,
Might be supposed a crow;
A great frequenter of the church,
Where, bishop-like, he finds a perch,
And dormitory too.
Above the steeple shines a plate,
That turns and turns, to indicate
From what point blows the weather.
Look up — your brains begin to swim,
‘Tis in the clouds — that pleases him,
He chooses it the rather.
.
Fond of the speculative height,
Thither he wings his airy flight,
And thence securely sees
The bustle and the rareeshow,
That occupy mankind below,
Secure and at his ease.
.
You think, no doubt, he sits and muses
On future broken bones and bruises,
If he should chance to fall.
No; not a single thought like that
Employs his philosophic pate,
Or troubles it at all.
.
He sees that this great roundabout,
The world, with all its motley rout,
Church, army, physic, law,
Its customs and its businesses,
Is no concern at all of his,
And says — what says he? — Caw.
.
Thrice happy bird! I too have seen
Much of the vanities of men;
And, sick of having seen ’em,
Would cheerfully these limbs resign
For such a pair of wings as thine
And such a head between ’em.
Nigel Borrington 
Ein gelungenes Bild! 🙂
A great shot! 🙂
November 20, 2013 at 11:44 am
Hello 🙂
Thank you, very please you enjoyed the post 🙂 🙂
November 20, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Love the poem and the photos Nigel! I like the way you’ve set it out 🙂
November 20, 2013 at 1:24 pm
Hello Norma 🙂
Thank you and I am very pleased that you enjoyed both poem and images 🙂 🙂 🙂
November 20, 2013 at 4:32 pm
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
WONDERFULLY DONE!!!!
November 20, 2013 at 11:48 pm
What a perfect marriage of image and word. Great shots.
November 21, 2013 at 8:31 pm
Stunning flying images!
November 22, 2013 at 2:04 am
Hello Anne 🙂
Thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂
November 22, 2013 at 12:08 pm
You captured that Jackdaw brilliantly Nigel . Love the movement in his wings there in image 3 particularly 🙂
November 22, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Magnificent!
November 23, 2013 at 8:22 am