Riley Farm-Rhymes

WHEN EARLY MARCH SEEMS MIDDLE MAY

     When country roads begin to thaw
         In mottled spots of damp and dust,
     And fences by the margin draw
         Along the frosty crust
       Their graphic silhouettes, I say,
       The Spring is coming round this way.

     When morning-time is bright with sun
       And keen with wind, and both confuse
     The dancing, glancing eyes of one
         With tears that ooze and ooze—
       And nose-tips weep as well as they,
       The Spring is coming round this way.

     When suddenly some shadow-bird
       Goes wavering beneath the gaze,
     And through the hedge the moan is heard
         Of kine that fain would graze
       In grasses new, I smile and say,
       The Spring is coming round this way.

     When knotted horse-tails are untied,
       And teamsters whistle here and there.
     And clumsy mitts are laid aside
         And choppers' hands are bare,
       And chips are thick where children play,
       The Spring is coming round this way.

     When through the twigs the farmer tramps,
       And troughs are chunked beneath the trees,
     And fragrant hints of sugar-camps
         Astray in every breeze,—
       When early March seems middle May,
       The Spring is coming round this way.

     When coughs are changed to laughs, and when
       Our frowns melt into smiles of glee,
     And all our blood thaws out again
         In streams of ecstasy,
       And poets wreak their roundelay,
       The Spring is coming round this way.