Two feathered guests from Alabama, two together,

And their nest, and four light-green eggs spotted with brown,

And every day the he-bird to and fro near at hand,

And every day the she-bird crouched on her nest, silent, with bright
eyes,

And every day I, a curious boy, never too close, never disturbing
them,

Cautiously peering, absorbing, translating.

Walt Whitman, “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking”

Two feathered guests from Alabama, two together,

And their nest, and four light-green eggs spotted with brown,

And every day the he-bird to and fro near at hand,

And every day the she-bird crouched on her nest, silent, with bright
eyes,

And every day I, a curious boy, never too close, never disturbing
them,

Cautiously peering, absorbing, translating.

Walt Whitman, “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking”