Anticipation
The master scans the woven score
Of subtle harmonies, before
A note is stirred;
And Nature now is pondering
The tidal symphony of Spring,
As yet unheard.
The Snowdrop
Behold, from winter’s sleeping side,
The sacramental power
Of Nature fashioneth a bride
As fair as Eden’s flower.
Triumph
Despite the north wind’s boast,
Despite the muffled host
Of hushing snow,
There cometh from below
Out of the darkness wakened, one by one
The dreamers of the sun—
Not in the bleak array
Of winter, but with fragrant banners gay
Leaping the barriers strong
Of ice, and loosing song,
The prisoner, and letting go
Long-fettered laughter, as the shadowy foe
Shrinks from the echoing cry
Of “life and victory!”
New and Old
New blossoms from the selfsame earth,
Beneath the selfsame skies;
New hope with dawn’s perennial birth,
The selfsame heaven supplies.
Sap
Strong as the sea and silent as the grave,
It ebbs and flows unseen;
Flooding the earth—a fragrant tidal wave—
With mist of deepening green.
For a recitation, click the play button:
“Anticipation”: Lyrics, p. 91; Poetry, p. 87. March 1896. The master would be a symphony conductor; the score, the printed sheet of music with all the different parts. Father Tabb was a gifted pianist.
“The Snowdrop”: Lyrics, p. 100; Poetry, p. 325. October 1892. The Snowdrop is any of a kind of perennial flower (genus Galanthus) having white blossoms, many of which bloom in late Winter or early Spring. Not indigenous to North America, some species are widely cultivated or have been naturalized outside their normal range.
“Triumph”: Poetry, p. 91. April 1905. Long-fettered means long captive in chains.
“New and Old”: Lyrics, p. 172; Poetry, p. 325. May 1896.
“Sap”: Poetry, p. 137; Poetry, p. 360. 1894.
