| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | II. Written at the Close of Spring | | By Charlotte Smith (1749–1806) |
| | | THE GARLANDS fade that Spring so lately wove; | |
| Each simple flower, which she had nursed in dew, | |
| Anemones that spangled every grove, | |
| The primrose wan, and harebell mildly blue. | |
| No more shall violets linger in the dell, | 5 |
| Or purple orchis variegate the plain, | |
| Till Spring again shall call forth every bell, | |
| And dress with humid hands her wreaths again. | |
| Ah, poor humanity! so frail, so fair, | |
| Are the fond visions of thy early day, | 10 |
| Till tyrant passion and corrosive care | |
| Bid all thy fairy colors fade away! | |
| Another May new buds and flowers shall bring: | |
| Ah! why has happiness no second Spring? | | | | |
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