This I saw with my own eyes:
A cliff-swallow
Made her nest in a hole of the high clay-bank
There near Miller's Ford.
But no sooner were the young hatched
Than a snake crawled up to the nest
To devour the brood.
Then the mother swallow with swift flutterings
And shrill cries
Fought at the snake,
Blinding him with the beat of her wings,
Until he, wriggling and rearing his head,
Fell backward down the bank
Into Spoon River and was drowned.
Scarcely an hour passed
Until a shrike
Impaled the mother swallow on a thorn.
As for myself I overcame my lower nature
Only to be destroyed by my brother's ambition. 

Poet: Edgar Lee Masters
Poem: Thomas Ross, Jr.
Poem of the Day: Jan 7 2007

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Thomas Ross, Jr., has received 21 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own.