| |
| AWAKE!—the crimson dawn is glowing, | |
| And blissful breath of Morn | |
| From golden seas is earthward flowing | |
| Thro’ mountain-peaks forlorn; | |
| ’Twixt the tall roses, and the jasmines near, | 5 |
| That darkly hover in the twilight air, | |
| I see the glory streaming, and I hear | |
| The sweet wind whispering like a messenger. | |
| |
| ’T is time to sing!—the Spirits of Spring | |
| Go softly by mine ear, | 10 |
| And out of Fairyland they bring | |
| Glad tidings to me here; | |
| ’T is time to sing! now is the pride of Youth | |
| Pluming the woods, and the first rose appears, | |
| And Summer from the chambers of the South | 15 |
| Is coming up to wipe away all tears. | |
| |
| They bring glad tidings from afar | |
| Of Her that cometh after | |
| To fill the earth, to light the air, | |
| With music and with laughter; | 20 |
| Ev’n now she leaneth forward, as she stands, | |
| And her fire-wing’d horses, shod with gold, | |
| Stream, like a sunrise, from before her hands, | |
| And thro’ the Eastern gates her wheels are roll’d. | |
| |
| ’T is time to sing—the woodlands ring | 25 |
| New carols day by day; | |
| The wild birds of the islands sing | |
| Whence they have flown away; | |
| ’T is time to sing: the nightingale is come, | |
| And ’mid the laurels chants he all night long, | 30 |
| And bids the leaves be still, the winds be dumb, | |
| And like the starlight flashes forth his song. | |
| |
| Immortal Beauty from above, | |
| Like sunlight breath’d on cloud, | |
| Touches the weary soul with love, | 35 |
| And hath unwound the shroud | |
| Of buried Nature till she looks again | |
| Fresh in infantine smiles and childish tears, | |
| And o’er the rugged hearts of aged men | |
| Sheds the pure dew of Youth’s delicious years. | 40 |
| |
| The heart of the awaken’d Earth | |
| Breathes odorous ecstasy; | |
| Let ours beat time unto her mirth, | |
| And hymn her jubilee! | |
| The glory of the Universal Soul | 45 |
| Ascends from mountain-tops, and lowly flowers, | |
| The mighty pulses throbbing through the Whole | |
| Call unto us for answering life in ours. | |
| |
| Arise! young Queen of forests green, | |
| A path was strewn for thee | 50 |
| With hyacinth, and gold bells atween, | |
| And red anemone; | |
| Arise! young Queen of beauty and delight, | |
| Lift up in this fair land thine happy eyes; | |
| The valleys yearn, and gardens for thy sight, | 55 |
| But chief this heart that prays for thee with sighs. | |
| |
| How oft into the opening blue | |
| I look’d up wistfully, | |
| In hope to see thee wafted thro’ | |
| Bright rifts of stormy sky; | 60 |
| Many gray morns, sad nights, and weary days, | |
| Without thy golden smile my heart was dying; | |
| Oh! in the valleys let me see thy face, | |
| And thy loose locks adown the wood-walks flying. | |
| |
| Come, with thy flowers, and silver showers, | 65 |
| Thy rainbows, and thy light; | |
| Fold in thy robe the naked Hours, | |
| And fill them with thy might; | |
| Though less I seek thee for the loveliness | |
| Thou laughest from thee over land and sea, | 70 |
| Than for the hues wherein gay Fancies dress | |
| My drooping spirit at the sight of thee. | |
| |
| Come, with thy voice of thousand joys, | |
| Thy leaves, and fluttering wings; | |
| Come with thy breezes, and the noise | 75 |
| Of rivulets and of springs; | |
| Though less I seek thee for thine harmonies | |
| Of winds and waters, and thy songs divine, | |
| Than for that Angel that within me lies, | |
| And makes glad music echoing unto thine. | 80 |
| |
| O Gardens blossoming anew! | |
| O Rivers, and fresh Rills! | |
| O Mountains in your mantles blue! | |
| O dales of daffodils! | |
| What ye can do no mortal spirit can, | 85 |
| Ye have a strength within we cannot borrow, | |
| Blessed are ye beyond the heart of Man, | |
| Your Joy, your Love, your Life beyond all Sorrow! | |
| |
