 | Collected poems of Henry Thoreau |  |
239
A WINTER AND SPRING SCENE
The willows droop,
The alders stoop,
The pheasants group
Beneath the snow;
The fishes glide
From side to side,
In the clear tide,
The ice below.
The alders stoop,
The pheasants group
Beneath the snow;
The fishes glide
From side to side,
In the clear tide,
The ice below.
The ferret weeps,
The marmot sleeps,
The owlet keeps
In his snug nook.
The rabbit leaps,
The mouse out-creeps,
The flag out-peeps,
Beside the brook.
The marmot sleeps,
The owlet keeps
In his snug nook.
The rabbit leaps,
The mouse out-creeps,
The flag out-peeps,
Beside the brook.
The snow-dust falls,
The otter crawls,
The partridge calls
Far in the wood;
The traveller dreams,
The tree-ice gleams,
The blue jay screams
In angry mood.
The otter crawls,
The partridge calls
Far in the wood;
The traveller dreams,
The tree-ice gleams,
The blue jay screams
In angry mood.
240
The apples thaw,
The ravens caw,
The squirrels gnaw
The frozen fruit;
To their retreat
I track the feet
Of mice that eat
The apple's root.
The ravens caw,
The squirrels gnaw
The frozen fruit;
To their retreat
I track the feet
Of mice that eat
The apple's root.
The axe resounds,
And bay of hounds,
And tinkling sounds
Of wintry fame;
The hunter's horn
Awakes the dawn
On field forlorn,
And frights the game.
And bay of hounds,
And tinkling sounds
Of wintry fame;
The hunter's horn
Awakes the dawn
On field forlorn,
And frights the game.
The tinkling air
Doth echo bear
To rabbit's lair,
With dreadful din;
She scents the air,
And far doth fare,
Returning where
She did begin.
Doth echo bear
To rabbit's lair,
With dreadful din;
She scents the air,
And far doth fare,
Returning where
She did begin.
241
The fox stands still
Upon the hill
Not fearing ill
From trackless wind.
But to his foes
The still wind shows
In treacherous snows
His tracks behind.
Upon the hill
Not fearing ill
From trackless wind.
But to his foes
The still wind shows
In treacherous snows
His tracks behind.
Now melts the snow
In the warm sun.
The meadows flow,
The streamlets run.
The spring is born,
The wild bees bum,
The insects hum,
And trees drop gum.
And winter's gone,
And summer's come.
In the warm sun.
The meadows flow,
The streamlets run.
The spring is born,
The wild bees bum,
The insects hum,
And trees drop gum.
And winter's gone,
And summer's come.
The chic-a-dee
Lisps in the tree,
The winter bee
Not fearing frost;
The small nuthatch
The bark doth scratch
Some worm to catch
At any cost.
Lisps in the tree,
The winter bee
Not fearing frost;
The small nuthatch
The bark doth scratch
Some worm to catch
At any cost.
242
The catkins green
Cast o'er the scene
A summer sheen,
A genial glow.
Cast o'er the scene
A summer sheen,
A genial glow.
I melt, I flow,
And rippling run,
Like melting snow
In this warm sun.
And rippling run,
Like melting snow
In this warm sun.
| Collected poems of Henry Thoreau | |