Verses on the Approach of Spring, Addressed to my Little Play-Fellow
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2022
Summary
Rejoice, my little merry mate!
The blithesome Spring is coming,
When thou shalt roam, with heart elate,
To hear the wild bee humming;
To hear the wild bee humming round,
The primrose sweetly blowing,
And listen to each gentle sound
Of gladsome music flowing.
The birds shall sing from many a bower,
Joy like thy own obeying;
And, round full many a blooming flower,
The butterfly be playing;—
Be playing, love! on wings as light
As heart in thy young bosom,
And showing tints as fair and bright
As does the opening blossom.
The snow-drops, by our garden-walk,
Long since to life have started;
They wither now upon the stalk;
Their beauty is departed:
Their beauty is departed,— but
Flowers in the fields are springing,
Which by and by shall ope and shut,
As to the glad birds’ singing.
The robin, from the pear-tree bough,
Gives us of song our ear-full;
The morns are getting lightsome now,
The evenings growing cheerful:
And soon they’ll be more long and light,
With warm and pleasant weather;
And we, to see the sun-set bright,
May go abroad together.
Then shall our summer haunts again
Renew their former pleasures;
The poplar grove, the shady lane,
For thee be full of treasures:
For flowers are treasures unto thee,
And well thou lov’st to find them;
To gather them with childish glee,
And then in posies bind them.
Spring is to me no merry time;
Its smiles are touch’d with sadness;
For vanish’d, with Life's early prime,
Is much that gave it gladness:
Yet, merry play-mate! for thy sake
I will not sing of sorrow;
But since thou canst its joys partake,
I would ‘twere Spring to-morrow!
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- Information
- Selected Poems of Bernard Barton, the 'Quaker Poet' , pp. 132 - 133Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2020