It would be strange
If at a crucial question, in wild-beast dens
Or cellars sweating with pain the stammerers
Should find their confidence.
It would be strange
If the haphazard starling learned a neat
Construction from the goldcrest, and the blackcap’s
Seamless song in a night.
It would be strange
If from the consternation of the ant-hill
Arose some order angelic, ranked for loving,
Equal to good or ill.
It would be more than strange
If the devil we raised to avenge our envy, grief,
Weakness, should take our hand like a prince and raise us
And say, ‘I forgive’.