| Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922. | | | | May, 1840 | | By Hartley Coleridge (1796–1849) |
| | | A LOVELY morn, so still, so very still, | |
| It hardly seems a growing day of Spring, | |
| Though all the odorous buds are blossoming, | |
| And the small matin birds were glad and shrill | |
| Some hours ago; but now the woodland rill | 5 |
| Murmurs along, the only vocal thing, | |
| Save when the wee wren flits with stealthy wing, | |
| And cons by fits and bits her evening trill. | |
| Lovers might sit on such a morn as this | |
| An hour together, looking at the sky, | 10 |
| Nor dare to break the silence with a kiss, | |
| Long listening for the signal of a sigh; | |
| And the sweet Nun, diffused in voiceless prayer, | |
| Feel her own soul through all the brooding air. | | | | |
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