A Song of Spring.
It is the birthday of the year,1
And Spring returneth from the south ;2
Her laughter on the wind I hear,3
And feel her breath upon my mouth.4
Where’er her shining feet she sets5
She leaves upon the tender green6
Her foot-prints in blue violets,7
In primroses and celandine.8
She comes, she comes, and music fills9
The happy earth, the happy sky,10
The valleys and the purple hills11
Where Love and Spring are passing by.12
Long-silent voices rise and swell13
In measured cadence, low and long,14
Till vale and mountain, field and fell,15
Ring with the earth-folk’s silver song.16
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Long was the night and long has been our sleeping,17
Far from the dear green places of our birth,18
Only the hill of dreams has heard our weeping,19
While the grey shadows, slowly, slowly creeping,20
Held from our longing eyes the pleasant earth.21
Sad were the hills and valleys all without us,22
Silent the woods and still the happy streams,23
Silent and sad the hearts that learned to doubt
us ;24
Under the stars, the grey mists all about us,25
Love came and led us from the hill of dreams.26
Hail, brothers, hail ! from hill to hill replying27
Soft on the winds our voices rise and fall,28
Bright at our feet the golden world is lying,29
Hymn we his praise, the glorious, the undying,30
Love is our leader, Love is lord of all.31
Wake, happy world, too long has been your sleeping,32
Wake, wood and mountain, stream and sounding shore,33
Down from the hill of dreams our train is sweeping,34
We bear the Spring’s sweet secrets in our keeping35
To the dear places that we knew of yore.36
Fountain and stream, so long by us forsaken,37
Hear the sweet music they have lost so long,38
Low by the river willow buds are shaken,39
Deep in the hills the silver echoes waken40
Bearing afar the burden of our song.41
Wake, happy world, this day of days to greet
her,42
Wake, birds and blossoms, woods and happy streams ;43
Sweet, sweet is Love, our lord, but Spring is sweeter44
Lady of Love, he leads us forth to meet her,45
Her whose sweet coming shook the hill of dreams.46