06 November 2013

Spring - An 1856 Poem

By Tyro. Barnesville, May 6th, 1856.
Stern winter's cruel reign is o'er —
His bowling storms are passed
His tyrant power had fled before
The south wind's gentle blast,
While in his wake, with peaceful smiles,
Quick follows lovely Spring,
Who does to every joyful heart
Supernal pleasures bring.
 
All nature is again renewed
By some all-quick'ning power,
And new born beauties spring to light,
At each successive hour.
The woods — so lately dead and bare,
Or clothed in sullen gloom —
Are crowned in leaflet diadems,
Of bright and vernal bloom.
 
Now smiling in the sheltered vale,
The flow'rets 'gin to peep,
Waked by the sun's attractive warmth
From their long night of sleep;
Hard by the sunny wall, the rose
Her opening Charms display,
And the sweet lilac's purple hues
Delight the eye of day.
 
The birds that to the South repaired
When Boreas chilled our clime,
Have walked again the leafy groves,
With love's harmonious chime;
The robin and the blue bird gay —
First of the feathered clan —
Now seek protection at our hands
As truest friends of man.
 
The speckled thrush in gleeful sport
Now turns his mimic song,
And in his pride, he dares the wrath
Of all the singing throng;
The gentle dove in plaintive tone
Bemoans her hopeless love,
While all in grateful praise unite
To Him who rules above.
 
Along the banks of the rippling stream
That girts the meadow round,
The flocks — in ruminating mood —
Lie quiet on the ground:
While near them on the grassy knoll,
The sportive lambkins stray,
Fly furious o'er the velvet lawn,
Or bound in antic play.
 
Now too, in hopes of harvest great
Reward of patient toil
The farmer plants his various grains
In well-prepared soil;
So we in early life, may sow
The seeds of virtue fair
And in the fields of fadeless joy,
Eternal harvest share.
May 22, 1856. Belmont Chronicle 8(33): 1, new series.