THE VOICE OF SPRING.
I Am coming, I am coming!
Hark! The little bee is humming;
See, the lark is soaring high
In the blue and sunny sky;
And the gnats are on the wing,
Wheeling round in airy ring.
See, the yellow catkins cover
All the slender-willow over;
And on banks of mossy green
Star-like primroses are seen;
And their clustering leaves below,
White and purple violets blow.
Hark! The newborn lambs are bleating;
And the cawing rooks are meeting
In the elms—a noisy crowd!
All the birds are singing loud;
And the first white butterfly
In the sunshine dances by.
Turn thine eyes to earth and heaven!
God for thee the spring has given,
Taught the birds their melodies,
Clothed the earth and cleared the skies,
For thy pleasure or thy food—
Pour thy soul in gratitude.
—Mary Howitt.