Classic Poem

The bird that flies under the water—
O lustrous breast and wing!—
The bird that skims under the water,
I wonder, does it sing?

The bird that slips under the ripple—
O gleaming wing and breast!—
The flitter under the ripple,
I wonder, does it nest?

If I could find one nesting,
If I could hear one sing,
In the thickets under the ripple
That spreads in a silver ring,

I might surprise the secret,
The music never heard—
Trilling under the water
In the throat of the mirrored bird.