SPRING. THE Sweet south wind, so long Sleeping in other climes, on sunny seas, Wakes unto us, and laughingly sweeps by, The labourer at his toil Feels on his cheek its dewy kiss, and lifts Borne from the blossoming gardens of the south- The bursting buds look up To greet the sunlight, while it lingers yet Opens its azure cup Meekly, and countless wild-flowers wake to fling The reptile that hath lain Torpid so long within his wintry tomb, And the lithe snake crawls forth from caverns chill, Continual songs arise From universal nature; birds and streams Mingle their voices, and the glad earth scems Thrice-blessed Spring! thou bearest gifts divine! Nor unto earth alone Thou hast a blessing for the human heart, And bringing hope upon thy rainbow wing, BURLEIGH. A REQUIEM. AY, pale and silent maiden, That ever drew the air, A breath of summer wind. Into the eternal shadow That girds our life around, Into the infinite silence Wherewith Death's shore is bound, Thou hast gone forth, beloved! And I were mean to weep, That thou hast left Life's shallows Thou liest low and silent, Thy heart is cold and still, Thine eyes are shut for ever, And Death hath had his will; He loved and would have taken, I loved and would have kept. We strove and he was stronger, And I have never wept. Let him possess thy body, Thy body was a fetter That bound me to the flesh, Thank God that it is broken, And now I live afresh! Now I can see thee clearly; Is rent and blown away: I saw its bright wings growing, Now I can love thee truly, For nothing comes between The senses and the spirit, The seen and the unseen; Lifts the eternal shadow, The silence bursts apart, And the soul's boundless future Is present in my heart. LOWELL. A REVERIE. In the twilight deep and silent And the quiver of the river Seems a thrill of joy benign. Then I rise and go in fancy To the headland by the sea, Then within my soul I feel thee, All the wondrous dreams of boyhood, Blossoming in sadder days, Joys that bound me, griefs that crowned me, With a better wreath than bays. All the longings after freedom, The vague love of human-kind, Wandering far and near at random, Twilight of an aimless mind. All of these, O best-beloved! Happiest present dreams and past, Faith and beauty, hope and duty, How my spirit, like an ocean, Blazing Hesperus hath sunken Low adown the pale blue west, And with blazing splendour crowneth The horizon's piny crest; Thoughtful quiet stills the riot Of wild longing in my breast. Home I loiter through the moonlight Which, as if a spirit stirred them, LOWELL. P |