Poetry Sunday: Spring Gladness by John Burroughs

John Burroughs celebrates the beauty and sounds of April in this poem. I think they are sentiments that we can all appreciate and agree with. 

Spring Gladness

by John Burroughs 

Now clap your hands together,
For this is April weather,
And love again is born;
The west wind is caressing,
The turf your feet are pressing
Is thrilling to the morn.

To see the grass a-greening,
To find each day new meaning
In sky and tree and ground;
To see the waters glisten,
To linger long, and listen
To every wakening sound!

To feel your nerves a-tingle
By grackle's strident jingle
Or starling's brooky call,
Or phoebe's salutation,
Or sparrow's proclamation
Atop the garden wall!

The maple trees are thrilling,
Their eager juices spilling
In many a sugar-camp.
I see the buckets gleaming,
I see the smoke and steaming,
I smell the fragrant damp.

The mourning-dove is cooing
The husky crow is wooing,
I hear his raucous vows;
The robin's breast is glowing,
Warm hues of earth are showing
Behind the early plows.

I love each April token
And every word that's spoken
In field or grove or vale,—
The hyla's twilight chorus,
The clanging geese that o'er us
Keep well the northern trail.

Oh, soon with heaping measures
The spring will bring her treasures
To gladden every breast;
The sky with warmth a-beaming,
The earth with love a-teeming —
In life itself new zest!

Comments

  1. I am still waiting for "phoebe's salutation" so far this April. They have returned but seem determined to stay out of my way!

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    Replies
    1. I just heard them last week. They are always among my favorite summer visitors.

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  2. Thanks for posting this spring poem.

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    1. Posting these poems is my pleasure and my mission to get more poetry into our lives!

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  3. I love this one. I had to look up 'hyla'. I discovered that it is a frog. The twilight chorus of the frogs here is extremely loud right now!! Wonderful heralding of spring. P. x

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the frogs' chorus is particularly delightful just now as it celebrates the coming of spring.

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  4. Perfect poem on this lovely April Sunday! We've got blue skies outside for a change hear in Utah, and I can hear all the birds singing. Spring weather just makes me smile. :D

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    1. It is certainly the most pleasant time of the year in these parts.

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  5. Spring has come early where I live, and the air is filled with so much bird song and bird calls. This poem captured the mood of this past wonderful mood exactly.

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    1. I thought Burroughs' description of early spring was spot on.

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