I0 5 
SPRING: 
A DREAM FULFILLED. 
Again we wait thy coming: through the drear, 
Long nights and meagre days we dream of thee, 
And think thee near when thou art far away, 
And watch the herald buds on bush on tree 
Unfold, ere yet thy footsteps touch the earth. 
Spring with the willow-blossoms in her hair, 
And wind-flowers on her bosom — snow to snow — 
Spring with the celandine to star her path ; 
The blue-bell and the primrose in her train, 
And subtle scent of hidden violets 
Moving before her ! 
Thus we dream of thee. 
And, while we dream, the hollows of the hills 
Grow fair with March-born daffodils, that light 
Their shadows with faint flame at earliest dawn. 
Below, the flocks are stirring, eager lambs 
Utter the clamant cry which, everywhere, 
Awakes the mother’s heart and saves the world. 
The youth and love and beauty of the earth 
We greet in thee, and sunnier climes send forth 
Their swift-winged minstrels over land and sea 
To hymn thy progress. 
Overhead, the clouds 
Sail their blue ocean in white majesty 
And shadow chases shadow on the grass. 
Now moves the new wine through the veins of earth, 
And all the air is tremulous with wings 
And flash and hum of myriad-moving life. 
At last the mill-pond, willow-watched in sleep, 
Wakes with a smile, as our first swallow’s wing 
Brushes her cheek in passing — 
And no more 
We dream about thy coming. Thou art here. 
April , 1898. 
Richard F. Towndrow. 
