MARK how the feathered tenants of the flood, <br />With grace of motion that might scarcely seem <br />Inferior to angelical, prolong <br />Their curious pastime! shaping in mid air <br />(And sometimes with ambitious wing that soars <br />High as the level of the mountain-tops) <br />A circuit ampler than the lake beneath-- <br />Their own domain; but ever, while intent <br />On tracing and retracing that large round, <br />Their jubilant activity evolves <br />Hundreds of curves and circlets, to and fro, <br />Upward and downward, progress intricate <br />Yet unperplexed, as if one spirit swayed <br />Their indefatigable flight. 'Tis done-- <br />Ten times, or more, I fancied it had ceased; <br />But lo! the vanished company again <br />Ascending; they approach--I hear their wings, <br />Faint, faint at first; and then an eager sound, <br />Past in a moment--and as faint again! <br />They tempt the sun to sport amid their plumes; <br />They tempt the water, or the gleaming ice, <br />To show them a fair image; 'tis themselves, <br />Their own fair forms, upon the glimmering plain, <br />Painted more soft and fair as they descend <br />Almost to touch;--then up again aloft, <br />Up with a sally and a flash of speed, <br />As if they scorned both resting-place and rest!<br /><br />William Wordsworth<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/water-fowl-observed-frequently-over-the-lakes-of-rydal-and-grasmere/
