This is a Joy

This is a Joy written by William Henry Davies

From "The Birth Of Song", 1936

Link to further information

This is a joy no laughter shakes,
Nor shall my body rock;
It hears the Cuckoo’s voice in Spring,
And sends no echoes back.
When Music plays, it claps no hands,
To twirl on nimble toes;
It sits as quiet as a bird,
With all its young up close.
It is a joy that reconciles
The smallest with the greatest;
From what I was, and am, until
Life’s sweetest breath comes, latest.

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.