Brief while ago the first soft day of spring
A personal, fair fortune seemed to be;
The soul awoke with earth's awakening,
With Nature bound in closest sympathy;
Sunshine or quiet rain
Could soothe life's pulse or make it leap again.
Now, stripped of all illusive veil or haze,
Each object looms remote, distinct, apart:
We know its worth, its limits, weight and ways;
It is no longer one with our own heart;