| Jessie B. Rittenhouse, ed. (1869–1948). The Second Book of Modern Verse. 1922. |
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| Spring |
| | | John Gould Fletcher (1886–1950) |
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| AT the first hour, it was as if one said, “Arise.” | |
| At the second hour, it was as if one said, “Go forth.” | |
| And the winter constellations that are like patient ox-eyes | |
| Sank below the white horizon at the north. | |
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| At the third hour, it was as if one said, “I thirst”; | 5 |
| At the fourth hour, all the earth was still: | |
| Then the clouds suddenly swung over, stooped, and burst; | |
| And the rain flooded valley, plain and hill. | |
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| At the fifth hour, darkness took the throne; | |
| At the sixth hour, the earth shook and the wind cried; | 10 |
| At the seventh hour, the hidden seed was sown; | |
| At the eighth hour, it gave up the ghost and died. | |
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| At the ninth hour, they sealed up the tomb; | |
| And the earth was then silent for the space of three hours. | |
| But at the twelfth hour, a single lily from the gloom | 15 |
| Shot forth, and was followed by a whole host of flowers. | |
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