A May Morning.
Amid the tender boughs of green1
The young sun laughs for joy : between2
Slim, silver, mottled, stems of birch3
A throng of saffron butterflies,4
New born to greet the morning, search,5
Where the pale bluebells’ sweetness lies.6
How still they settle, softly float,7
To music of the blackbird’s note !8
To undertone of early bees,9
That hum from flower to flower, and quaff10
New nectar ! Insects, blossoms, trees,11
Alert to greet the sun-god’s laugh !12
Awake, my soul, arise, rejoice !13
Join universal nature’s voice14
In glad Te Deum for the Spring !15
Forget the Winter’s miry ways !16
Forget the least uncleanly thing,17
That saddened, soiled, those vanished days !18