Low fence-wire?
''There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white,

Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.''

The poem above was written by Sara Teasdale. I happened to read it the other day and I couldn't but notice a handful of words which I have no knowledge of, I must confess. So, I wonder what the true meanings of the words/expressions below are:

- Robins
- Feathery fire
- Low fence-wire
- Whims

Would you be so kind as to provide me with the meanings of such words/expressions?
Thank you very much!

Question

Low fence-wire?
''There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground, 
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white,

Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.''

The poem above was written by Sara Teasdale. I happened to read it the other day and I couldn't but notice a handful of words which I have no knowledge of, I must confess. So, I wonder what the true meanings of the words/expressions below are:

- Robins
- Feathery fire
- Low fence-wire
- Whims

Would you be so kind as to provide me with the meanings of such words/expressions?
Thank you very much!

Answer

Robins are a kind of small bird, often with reddish feathers.  “Feathery fire” refers to the redness of the robins’ feathers.  “Low fence wire”:  some fences have just wires between the fence posts; there may be one “low” wire maybe 1 foot above the ground, and one or more higher wires.  The visual here is that the robin is standing on the low fence wire, singing.  A “whim” is something you do without planning ahead, just because it feels good or right in the moment.  Here, it means that the robins are singing whatever songs pop into their heads.