Ode to the Hen (1896)
On robin and skylark and linnet, spring poets write page after page :Their praises are sounded each minute by prophet, soothsayer, and sage ,
But not since the stars sang together, not since the creation of men ,
Has anyone drawn a goose feather in praise of the patient old hen. All honour and praise to the singing, that cheers up the wildwood in spring ;
The old recollections oft bringing joy, childhood, and that sort of thing;
But dearer to me than the twitter of robin or martin or wren ,
Is that motherly cluck when a litter of chickens surround the old hen. And her midwinter cackle, how cheery, above the straw nest she has made ;
It notifies hearts all aweary another fresh egg has been laid ;
And when the old bird waxes heavy, and aged and lazy and fat,
Well cooked with light dumplings and gravy there's great consolation in that. --H JORDON. Notes From South Australian Newspaper Petersburg Times 14 Feb 1896 p. 2.