A Bird, came down the Walk Summary

At the poem's beginning, the speaker sees a bird devouring a worm. The bird has not seen her and she is frightened by the violence of its hunting. The bird then takes a drink of dew and allows a beetle to cross its path. The bird proceeds to turn its head and look around; the speaker notes its "beady" eyes and "velvet" head. Nervously, the speaker offers the bird a crumb. The bird unfurls its wings and takes flight, heading, the speaker thinks, homeward. The speaker then compares its wings to the oars of a boat on the ocean and its grace to that of a butterfly on a sunny afternoon. Its departure is just as mysterious as its sudden arrival.