Now when the primrose makes a splendid show,
And lilies face the March-winds in full blow,
And humbler growths as moved with one desire
Put on, to welcome spring, their best attire,
Poor Robin is yet flowerless; but how gay
With his red stalks upon this sunny day!
Poor Robin. W. WORDSWORTH.
The swallow twitters about the eaves;
Blithely she sings, and sweet and clear;
Around her climb the woodbine leaves
In a golden atmosphere.
The Swallow C. THAXTER.
The stately-sailing swan
Gives out his snowy plumage to the gale;
And, arching proud his neck, with oary feet
Rears forward fierce, and guards his osier isle,
Protective of his young.
The Seasons: Spring. J. THOMSON.
BLESSING.
Blessings star forth forever; but a curse
Is like a cloud—it passes.
Festus: Sc. Hades. P.J. BAILEY.
To heal divisions, to relieve the oppressed,
In virtue rich; in blessing others, blessed.
Odyssey, Bk. VII. HOMER. Trans. of POPE.
Like birds, whose beauties languish half concealed,
Till, mounted on the wing, their glossy plumes
Expanded, shine with azure, green, and gold;
How blessings brighten as they take their flight!
Night Thoughts, Night II. DR. E. YOUNG.
In the nine heavens are eight Paradises;
Where is the ninth one? In the human breast.
Only the blessèd dwell in the Paradises,
But blessedness dwells in the human breast.
Oriental Poetry: The Ninth Paradise. W.R. ALGER.
BLUSH.
Who has not seen that feeling born of flame
Crimson the cheek at mention of a name?
The rapturous touch of some divine surprise
Flash deep suffusion of celestial dyes:
When hands clasped hands, and lips to lips were pressed
And the heart's secret was at once confessed?
The Microcosm: Man. A. COLES.