Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BREATHINGS OF SPRING, by FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BREATHINGS OF SPRING, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: What wak'st thou, spring? Sweet voices in the woods
Last Line: Yes, gentle spring! No sorrow dims thine air, breathed by our loved ones there!
Alternate Author Name(s): Browne, Felicia Dorothea
Subject(s): Flowers; Hearts; Love - Loss Of; Spring; Women


WHAT wakest thou, Spring? Sweet voices in the woods,
And reed-like echoes, that have long been mute:
Thou bringest back, to fill the solitudes,
The lark's clear pipe, the cuckoo's viewless flute,
Whose tone seems breathing mournfulness or glee, E'en as our hearts may be.

And the leaves greet thee, Spring! -- the joyous leaves,
Whose tremblings gladden many a corpse and glade,
Where each young spray a rosy flush receives,
When thy south wind hath pierced the whispery shade,
And happy murmurs, running through the grass, Tell that thy footsteps pass.

And the bright waters -- they too hear thy call,
Spring, the awakener! thou hast burst their sleep!
Amidst the hollows of the rocks their fall
Makes melody, and in the forests deep,
Where sudden sparkles and blue gleams betray Their windings to the day.

And flowers -- the fairy-peopled world of flowers!
Thou from the dust hath set that glory free,
Coloring the cowslip with the sunny hours,
And penciling the wood anemone:
Silent they seem -- yet each to thoughtful eye Glows with mute poesy.

But what awakest thou in the heart, O Spring!
The human heart, with all its dreams and sighs?
Thou that givest back so many a buried thing,
Restorer of forgotten harmonies!
Fresh songs and scents break forth where'er thou art -- What wakest thou in the heart?

Too much, oh! there too much! We know not well
Wherefore it should be thus, yet roused by thee,
What fond, strange yearnings, from the soul's deep cell,
Gush for the faces we no more may see!
How are we haunted, in the wind's low tone By voices that are gone!

Looks of familiar love, that never more,
Never more on earth our aching eyes shall meet.
Past words of welcome to our household door,
And vanished smiles, and sounds of parted feet --
Spring! 'midst the murmurs of thy flowering trees, Why, why revivest thou these?

Vain longings for the dead! -- why come they back
With thy young birds, and leaves, and living blooms?
Oh! is it not, that from thine earthly track
Hope to thy world may look beyond the tombs?
Yes, gentle Spring! no sorrow dims thine air, Breathed by our loved ones there!





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