{
 "id": "james-mcintyre/a-birds-nest",
 "title": "A Bird’s Nest",
 "ordinal": null,
 "subtitle": null,
 "poet": "James McIntyre",
 "poet_slug": "james-mcintyre",
 "language": "en",
 "book": "Musings on the Banks of Canadian Thames",
 "book_slug": "musings-on-the-banks-of-canadian-thames",
 "book_kind": "volume",
 "sequence": 48,
 "container": null,
 "epigraph": null,
 "first_published": {
  "year": 1884,
  "venue": "Musings on the Banks of Canadian Thames (1884)",
  "note": "First located printing is this volume; an earlier periodical printing has not been established.",
  "uncertain": false,
  "sources": [
   "https://archive.org/details/cihm_09542"
  ]
 },
 "source": {
  "kind": "standard-ebooks",
  "repo": "standardebooks/james-mcintyre_poetry",
  "file": "poetry.xhtml",
  "upstream": [
   "https://archive.org/details/cihm_09542",
   "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36068",
   "https://archive.org/details/cihm_11791"
  ],
  "rights": "public domain (SE dedication; underlying text pre-1931)"
 },
 "verification": {
  "level": "structural-only",
  "last_checked": "2026-08-20"
 },
 "stats": {
  "n_lines": 16,
  "n_stanzas": 4,
  "n_parts": 0,
  "longest_line_chars": 42,
  "max_indent": 0
 },
 "site_ready": true,
 "parts": [],
 "stanzas": [
  [
   {
    "text": "An old man who had charge of field,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "With pride he saw two birds did build,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "A broad capacious warm nest,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "So full of young with speckled breast,",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "And when the old man there did pass,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "They soon ran merry ’mong the grass,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "But of the youth they were so shy,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "They made strong efforts for to fly.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "Youths tried with old man to prevail,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "To let them blaze away at quail,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "But though they longed for a fat pot,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "At them they never got a shot.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "No more the old man doth them shield,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "For they have flown to broader field,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Long may they spread their wings and tail,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "And may no foe them ’ere assail.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ]
 ]
}