Ezra Pound, "Canto LXXXI"

Thou art a beaten dog beneath the hail, A swollen magpie in a fitful sun, Half black half white Nor knowst’ou wing from tail Pull down thy vanity

— Ezra Pound on Magpie

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Thou art a beaten dog beneath the hail, A swollen magpie in a fitful sun, Half black half white Nor knowst’ou wing from tail Pull down thy vanity" in the context of "Ezra Pound, "Canto LXXXI"" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Magpie" (Quotes, Eurasian magpie) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Ezra Pound

About Ezra Pound

Ezra Pound (October 30, 1885 – November 1, 1972) was an American expatriate poet, musician and critic who was a major figure of the Modernist movement in early to mid-20th century poetry. He was the driving force behind several Modernist movements including Imagism and Vorticism.