Elizabeth Clementine (Dodge) (Stedman) Kinney (1810–1889)

CAPRICIOUS April, beautiful coquette!

Thou wearest now a smile and now a frown,

And now a pensive air, with lids cast down,

And thy sad visage with fresh tear-drops wet:

Then, all at once, thou sadness dost forget,—

Thy forehead circling with joy’s radiant crown,

And laughing gayly, with a laugh thine own—

Lovely in smiles, in tears more lovely yet.

Thy favorites are not princes of the earth,

Nor gay gallants; but sons of lowly birth—

For ploughman and for planter are thy wiles;

Thy bird-toned voice calls rustics from the hearth

To labor, while thy presence care beguiles,

And quickens precious seed beneath thy tears and smiles.