Merrily swinging on brier and weed,
Near to the nest of his little dame,
Over the mountain-side or mead,
Robert of Lincoln is telling his name:
Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,
Spink, spank, spink;
Snug and safe is that nest of ours,
Hidden among the summer flowers.
Chee, chee, chee.
Robert of Lincoln is gayly drest,
Wearing a bright black wedding-coat;
White are his shoulders and white his crest.
Hear him call in his merry note:
Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,
Spink, spank, spink;
Look, what a nice new coat is mine,
Sure there was never a bird so fine.
Chee, chee, chee.
Robert of Lincoln’s Quaker wife,
Pretty and quiet, with plain brown wings,
Passing at home a patient life,
Broods in the grass while her husband sings:
Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,
Spink, spank, spink;
Brood, kind creature; you need not fear
Thieves and robbers while I am here.
Chee, chee, chee.
Modest and shy as a nun is she;
One weak chirp is her only note.
Braggart and prince of braggarts is he,
Pouring boasts from his little throat:
Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,
Spink, spank, spink;
Never was I afraid of man;
Catch me, cowardly knaves, if you can!
Chee, chee, chee.
Six white eggs on a bed of hay,
Flecked with purple, a pretty sight!
There as the mother sits all day,
Robert is singing with all his might:
Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,
Spink, spank, spink;
Nice good wife, that never goes out,
Keeping house while I frolic about.
Chee, chee, chee.
Soon as the little ones chip the shell,
Six wide mouths are open for food;
Robert of Lincoln bestirs him well,
Gathering seeds for the hungry brood.
Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,
Spink, spank, spink;
This new life is likely to be
Hard for a gay young fellow like me.
Chee, chee, chee.
Robert of Lincoln at length is made
Sober with work, and silent with care;
Off is his holiday garment laid,
Half forgotten that merry air:
Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,
Spink, spank, spink;
Nobody knows but my mate and I
Where our nest and our nestlings lie.
Chee, chee, chee.
Summer wanes; the children are grown;
Fun and frolic no more he knows;
Robert of Lincoln’s a humdrum crone;
Off he flies, and we sing as he goes:
Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,
Spink, spank, spink;
When you can pipe that merry old strain,
Robert of Lincoln, come back again.
Chee, chee, chee.
Poetical Works of William Cullen Bryant (1893) | William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)
Suggestions
Ask your students to do one or more of the following:
- This poem begs to be read aloud. Don’t pause at the end of every line, but pause only at the punctuation.
- There is a repeated phrase. What is it?
- What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? (ABABCCDDE)
- Look for onomatopoeia.
- Why do you suppose Bryant refers to the bird as “Robert of Lincoln”? [According to the Oxford Dictionary, the name of the bird was originally Bob Lincoln, then Bob O’Lincoln (Bob of Lincoln), then Bob-o-link.]
- The bobolink is a member of the blackbird/oriole family. Read more about these related birds.
- Learn more about the Bobolink. Create a drawing and writing page for the bird. Include one copied stanza from the poem and an illustration.
- The poem expresses the life of Robert of Lincoln in phases. Tell the bird’s story.
- We have covered quite a few poems about birds! Read one or two of these other poems (see list in Additional Resources). Write a short compare/contrast essay showing the differences.
- Read other poems by William Cullen Bryant.
- William Cullen Bryant was known as one of the “fireside poets,” American poets that were popular in the late 1800s whose poems could be read by the entire family around the hearth. Other fireside poets include John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Read at least one poem by each of these authors. Explain how how the themes are similar.
- Read The Tale of Bobby Bobolink by Arthur Scott Bailey.
- Create an author page for Bryant.
Additional Resources
Poems About Birds:
- “The Eagle” by Tennyson.
- “The Skylark” by John Clare.
- “The Sandpiper” by Celia Thaxter.
- “L’oiseau bleu” by Coleridge.
- “A Bird Came Down the Walk” by Emily Dickinson.
- “To a Skylark” by Percy Shelley.
- “Song — The Owl” by Tennyson.
- “The Sky-lark” by Felicia Hemans.
14 Forms of Writing for the Older Student: Poetry
Ideas for doing more with the poem.
