MAY CAROL
See the robins swinging
’Mid the orchards’ snow;
Feel the perfumed breezes
Wafted to and fro;
Listen to the music
Heard from bird and spray;
Lift your hearts, ye sad ones,
’Tis the lovely May.
Ah, our hearts were weary
Waiting for the light,
For the frosts to vanish
With their bitter blight:
See, the earth’s brown bosom
Heaves, where zephyrs play;
See, she thrills and answers
To the touch of May.
May, all fresh and smiling,
Sweet—from heaven above;
May, our souls beguiling
With her dreams of love:
Violet-eyed and fragrant—
How our pulses play
’Neath the virgin beauty
Of the radiant May.
Lift your hearts up: floating
Through the gold and blue
Where the liquid sunlight
Streams and filters through,
There a Lady, smiling,
Stands ’mid cloudless day—
Snow-white Virgin-Mother,
Dazzling Queen of May.
—Mary Antonia, Sister of Mercy.