| Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916. | | | XV. Protest
On one who died in May | | By Clarence Chatham Cook (1828–1900) |
| | | WHY, Death, what dost thou here, | |
| This time o’ year? | |
| Peach-blow and apple-blossom; | |
| Clouds, white as my love’s bosom; | |
| Warm wind o’ the west | 5 |
| Cradling the robin’s nest; | |
| Young meadows hasting their green laps to fill | |
| With golden dandelion and daffodil: | |
| These are fit sights for spring; | |
| But, oh, thou hateful thing, | 10 |
| What dost thou here? | |
| |
| Why, Death, what dost thou here, | |
| This time o’ year? | |
| Fair, at the old oak’s knee, | |
| The young anemone; | 15 |
| Fair, the plash places set | |
| With dog-tooth violet; | |
| The first sloop-sail; | |
| The shad-flower pale; | |
| Sweet are all sights, | 20 |
| Sweet are all sounds of spring; | |
| But thou, thou ugly thing, | |
| What dost thou here? | | | | |
|
|
