Everyone suddenly burst out singing;
And I was filled with such delight
As prisoned birds must find in freedom,
Winging wildly across the white
Orchards and dark-green fields; on - on - and out of sight.
Everyone's voice was suddenly lifted;
And beauty came like the setting sun:
My heart was shaken with tears; and horror
Drifted away . . . O, but Everyone
Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.
The image of the bird changes slightly from the first to the second stanza. In the first stanza 'prisoned birds' is a simile suggesting the delight of wild freedom. In the second stanza 'bird' is a metaphor for the collective song. It is a slight change, but nonetheless useful to make the distinction between simile and metaphor.
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