Interpretation

The speaker in the poem describes once seeing a bird come down the walk, unaware that it was being watched. The bird ate an angleworm, then "drank a Dew / From a convenient Grass," then hopped sideways to let a beetle pass by. The bird's frightened, bead-like eyes glanced all around. Cautiously, the speaker offered him "a Crumb," but the bird "unrolled his feathers" and flew away - as though rowing in the water, but with a grace gentler than that with which "Oars divide the ocean" or butterflies leap "off Banks of Noon"; the bird appeared to swim without splashing.

 

The poem "A Bird Came Down the Walk" reminds us of a nursery rhyme because of its rhyme scheme and rhythm. This rhythm makes the poem very easy to read.

 

In verse one, the speaker is engaged, almost amused in a superior sort of way – the bird ‘halves’ the worm and eats him ‘raw’. This continues to be the poet’s attitude in verse two as the bird drinks and then seems to stand aside in a mannerly fashion. This attitude changes in the next five lines as the frightened and defensive reactions of the bird seems to generate a sense of sympathy in the speaker. Despite the ‘cautious’ nature of her approach, we aren’t surprised when the bird seeks safety in flight.

 

The poet’s attitude to the bird on the ground is very different when it takes flight. The grounded bird was a source of amusement before it brings out a spontaneous act of kindness from her. By contrast, the bird in flight takes on an almost magical quality that leaves the narrator earth-bound and in awe.

 

The poem seems to be about a bird but does the poet end up telling us as much if not more about ourselves than it does about the bird?

 

A second reading and some points to ponder

Use the second reading of the poem to gather your thoughts about “A Bird Came Down the Walk.”

Here are a couple of final issues for you to think about.

• Did you prefer or the first or second reading of the poem – why?
• What are the poem’s memorable features?
• Were there elements of the poem that you that did not appreciate or did not work for you?