381. Written in Early Spring

I HEARD a thousand blended notes

While in a grove I sate reclined,

In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts

Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link

The human soul that through me ran;

And much it grieved my heart to think

What Man has made of Man.

Through primrose tufts, in that sweet bower,

The periwinkle trail’d its wreaths;

And ’tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopp’d and play’d,

Their thoughts I cannot measure,—

But the least motion which they made

It seem’d a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan

To catch the breezy air;

And I must think, do all I can,

That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,

If such be Nature’s holy plan,

Have I not reason to lament

What Man has made of Man?