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.