Down with the oar, I toil no more.
Trust to the boat; we rest, we float.
Under the loosestrife and alder we roam
To seek and search for the halcyon's home.

Blue bird, pause; thou hast no cause
To grudge me the sight of fishbones white.
Thine is the only nest now to find.
Show it me, birdie; be calm, be kind.

Wander all day in quest of prey,
Dart and gleam, and ruffle the stream;
Then for the truth that the old folks sing,
Comfort the twilight, and droop thy wing.