The Poetry Corner

Wings

By Laurence Hope (Adela Florence Cory Nicolson)

Was it worth while to forego our wings To gain these dextrous hands ? Truly they fashion us wonderful things As the fancy of man demands. But - to fly! to sail through the lucid air From crest to violet crest Of these great grey mountains, quartz-veined and bare, Where the white clouds gather and rest. Even to flutter from flower to flower, - To skim the tops of the trees, - In the roseate light of a sun-setting hour To drift on a sea-going breeze. Ay, the hands have marvellous skill To create us curious things, - Baubles, playthings, weapons to kill, - But - I would we had chosen wings!