This day dame Nature seem'd in love; The lusty sap began to move; Fresh juice did stir th' embracing vines; And birds had drawn their valentines. The jealous trout, that low did lie, Rose at a well-dissembled fly; There stood my friend, with patient skill, Attending of his trembling quill; Already were the eaves possess'd With the swift Pilgrim's daubèd nest; The groves already did rejoice In Philomel's triumphing voice, The showers were short, the weather mild, The morning fresh, the evening smiled. Joan takes her neat-rubbed pail, and now She trips to milk the sand-red cow; Where, for some sturdy foot-ball swain, Joan strokes a syllabub or twain. The fields and gardens were beset With tulips, crocus, violet; And now, though late, the modest rose Did more than half a blush disclose. Thus all looks gay and full of cheer, To welcome the new-livery'd year. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHAMBER MUSIC: 1 by JAMES JOYCE EPITAPH FOR ONE WHO WOULD NOT BE BURIED IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY by ALEXANDER POPE AN ESCAPE by LASCELLES ABERCROMBIE A BURIAL-PLACE by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM THE JACKET OF GREY by CAROLINE AUGUSTA BALL ADOLESCENCE by MAVIS CLARE BARNETT |