The speaker wonders why her sleepy heart should be trained to give clever, mocking answers, since the real prize is something else: the bird Imagination, soft-feathered but sharp-eyed like a falcon. This bird is described in dreamy, almost mythic colors—sunlit wings and moonlit breast—yet it flies far and dies soon. The final stanza turns into a set of tender instructions for keeping imagination close: bind it with a silver chain, cover its head with a scarlet hood, let it rest on your wrist, and tell it it is beautiful. The tone is delicate, wistful, and a little wary, mixing affection for a fleeting, wild force with the sense that it must be carefully, even ceremonially, handled.
The Falcon — Summary
Why should my sleepy heart be taught To whistle mocking-bird replies? This is another bird you've caught, Soft-feathered, with a falcon's eyes.
The bird Imagination, That flies so far, that dies so soon; Her wings are colored like the sun, Her breast is colored like the moon.
Weave her a chain of silver twist, And a little hood of scarlet wool, And let her perch upon your wrist, And tell her she is beautiful.