| Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922. | | | | Accidia | | By Henry Charles Beeching (1859–1919) |
| | | THERE breathes a sense of Spring in the boon air: | |
| The woods are amber, purple, misty red, | |
| Primrose and violet rouse them from their bed, | |
| Their skiey homes the patient rooks repair; | |
| Everywhere hope is rife, joy everywhere; | 5 |
| But I, thy heart, lie yet unquickenèd, | |
| And bleating lambs and larks that sing o’erhead | |
| Charm not away my sluggish cold despair. | |
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| Peace, peace, fond heart; thy spring-tide is not this; | |
| Thy sap of joy mounted, though flowers were sere, | 10 |
| That day, though leaves fell thick before the West. | |
| Nor grudge nor envy thou a natural bliss. | |
| Birds keep their season, thou through all the year | |
| May’st sing thy song, soar skyward, make thy nest. | | | | |
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