GRACIOUS the sceptre that He wields,
Heart! do you understand?
All, all is His—His great arm shields
That which is bare, and that which yields,
Lord is He of the harvest fields,
And of the barren land.
With Her Sunshine, Breeze and Dew
JOYOUS May has come again
With her sunshine, breeze and dew,
Holding up her silken train,
See the blossoms, sweet and new.
Here a yellow primrose shows
All the world a heart of gold,
There a scarlet tulip glows,
By the breeze made overbold.
Joyous May, we welcome you,
Welcome you and all you bring,
Skies so shining and so blue,
Birds to twitter and to sing,
Children on the green to play,
Blushing maid, and eager swain,
At your coming, joyous May,
All the world grows young again.
What the Poppies Said
“We have to-day,” so the poppies said
To the west wind softly blowing,
“To-day to hold, in our bosom red,
The great white tears that the night has shed
And the sunbeams warm and glowing.”
“We have to-day,” said the lover bold,
“To spell out the sweet old story,
My heart for thine, and the tale is told—
O, be not, sweetheart, so shy and cold,
See, the world is filled with glory!”
The west wind sighed to the sea that night,
“’Tis a thought to give one sorrow,
The poppy boasts of her pearls of white,
The lover his store of dear delight,
But neither whispers to-morrow.”