Winter is past. The changing, softened sky,
The robin’s cheery note, the sea-bird’s cry,
The willow pussies peeping from their nest;
The modest sparrow, with his dappled breast,
Flitting beneath the lilacs by the wall;
The budding tree, the tender grass, with all
Its tiny hands uplifted to the sun,
Who reaches down and clasps them, one by one;
The mayflower sleeping on her snowy bed,