Classic Poem

Today I saw a bird
Lie upturned on the ground;
It seemed as though I found a word
That had no sound.

Quickly once that sparrow
Flew rising through the air,
But quicker flew the flying arrow
That laid it there.

O strange to see it now
Lying with sidelong head;
Stranger to think it does not know
Where it lies dead.

That sparrow asks no man
To dig for it a grave;
Gentle is death, I thought, that can
Both slay and save.