Coming Spring

In all the years which have been, The spring hath green'd the bough - The gladsome hopeful spring-time! - Keep heart! It comes even now. The winter-time departeth; The early flowers expand; The blackbird and the turtle-dove Are heard throughout the land. The sadness of the winter, Which gloom'd our hearts, is gone: A thousand signs betoken That spring-time comes anon. 'Tis spring-time in our bosoms; All strife aside we cast; The storms were for the winter-days, But they are gone and past. Before us lies the spring-time- Thank God, the time of mirth - When birds are singing in the trees, And flowers gem all the earth; When a thousand busy hands upturn The bounteous, fruitful mould, And the heart of every poet feels More love than it can hold. In all the years which have been, The spring-time green'd the bough- The gentle, gracious spring-time! Rejoice! it comes even now.