The Spring-time, O the Spring-time! <br />Who does not know it well? <br />When the little birds begin to build, <br />And the buds begin to swell. <br />When the sun with the clouds plays hide-and-seek, <br />And the lambs are bucking and bleating, <br />And the colour mounts to the maiden's cheek, <br />And the cuckoo scatters greeting; <br />In the Spring-time, joyous Spring-time! <br /> <br />The Summer, O the Summer! <br />Who does not know it well? <br />When the ringdoves coo the long day through, <br />And the bee refills his cell. <br />When the swish of the mower is heard at morn, <br />And we all in the woods go roaming, <br />And waiting is over, and love is born, <br />And shy lips meet in the gloaming; <br />In the Summer, ripening Summer! <br /> <br />The Autumn, O the Autumn! <br />Who does not know it well? <br />When the leaf turns brown, and the mast drops down, <br />And the chestnut splits its shell. <br />When we muse o'er the days that have gone before, <br />And the days that will follow after, <br />When the grain lies deep on the winnowing-floor, <br />And the plump gourd hangs from the rafter; <br />In the Autumn, thoughtful Autumn! <br /> <br />The Winter, O the Winter! <br />Who does not know it well? <br />When, day after day, the fields stretch gray, <br />And the peewit wails on the fell. <br />When we close up the crannies and shut out the cold, <br />And the wind sounds hoarse and hollow, <br />And our dead loves sleep in the churchyard mould, <br />And we feel that we soon shall follow; <br />In the Winter, mournful Winter!<br /><br />Alfred Austin<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-spring-time-o-the-spring-time/
