12th century silk painting “Bird on a Branch” by Li Anzhong

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have won. (Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862)

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A linnet in a gilded cage -
A linnet on a bough -
In frosty winter one might doubt
Which bird is luckier now.
But let the trees burst out in leaf,
And nests be on the bough,
Which linnet is the luckier bird,
Oh, who could doubt it now? (Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830-1894)

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Within a churchyard, on a recent grave,
I saw a little cage
That jailed a goldfinch. All was silence save
Its hops from stage to stage.

There was inquiry in its wistful eye,
And once it tried to sing;
Of him or her who placed it there, and why,
No one knew anything. (Thomas Hardy 1849-1928)

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Thanks to “puntocaramelo” for this video. The music -  “Gabriel’s Oboe” by Ennio Morricone comes from the film The Mission



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my new blog . . . . . . A TOUCH OF CULTURE . . . . . . my new blog

                             Starting Friday 1st October

Every Friday     http://atouchofculture.blogspot.com   Every Friday
                   

My other blogs Eighty Plus, Quiet Corner and Wise Men Say are continuing as usual

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