Under the old elm and other poems Author:James Russell Lowell Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: UNDER THE WILLOWS. Frank-heabted hostess of the field and wood, Gypsy, whose roof is every spreading tree, June is the pearl of our New England year. Still a ... more »surprisal, though expected long, o Her coming startles. Long she lies in wait, Makes many a feint, peeps forth, draws coyly back, Then, from some southern ambush in the sky, With one great gush of blossom storms the world. A week ago the sparrow was divine ; 10 The bluebird, shifting his light load of song From post to post along the cheerless fence, Was as a rhymer ere the poet come ; But now, oh rapture ! sunshine winged and voiced, Pipe blown through by the warm wild breath of the West ie Shepherding his soft droves of fleecy cloud. Gladness of woods, skies, waters, all in one, The bobolink has come, and, like the soul Of the sweet season vocal in a bird, 17. Bryant has a charming poem, Robert of Lincoln, in which the light- hearted song of the hird gets a homelier but no less delightful interpretation. See, also, Lowell's lines in Sutttin' in lite Pastoral Line, No. VI. of the second series of The Biglow Papers: — " 'Nuff Bed, June's bridesman, poet o' the year, Gladness on wings, the bobolink is here ; Half-hid in tip-top apple-blooms he swings, Or climbs aginst the breeze with quiverin wings, Or, givin' way to 't in a mock despair, Rlns down, a brook o' laug-'iter, thru the air." Gurgles in ecstasy we know not what o Save June! Dear June! Now God be praised fai June. May is a pious fraud of the almanac, A ghastly parody of real Spring Shaped out of snow and breathed with eastern wind Or if, o'er-confident, she trust the date, M And, with her handful of anemones, Herself as shivery, steal into the sun, The season need but turn his hour-glass round, And winter suddenly, like crazy Lear...« less