The First Day of Summer

Thou'rt come, oh, lovely Summer! I feel thee in the breeze,

That, warm and fragrant, from the South, is whispering through the trees;

I see thee in the varied hues of thickly springing flowers,

I hear thee in the song of birds among their leafy bowers!

I welcome thee, sweet Summer! I welcome thee again

To the garden and the hill-side, the valley and the plain;

The wintry feelings of the heart yield to thy magic sway,

As ice-bound waters at thy call burst from their chains away.

How wondrous and how beautiful are all the works of God,

From the tall pine to the smallest flower that springeth from the sod!

The winter storms and clouds show forth his terror from above,

But thou, oh, lovely Summer-time! thou tellest of his love!

Pass on thy way o'er all the earth, and visit every land,

To show the goodness and the power of an Almighty hand,

Which o'er the thorny path of life in mercy streweth flowers,

And with bright rays of sunshine gilds the pilgrim's darkest hours!

                                                                     

                                                                                           ~Marguerite St. Leon Barstow Loud