Poetry Archives

You tell me not, green multitude of leaves,
Mingling and whirling with the willful breeze,
Nor you, bright grasses, trembling blade to blade,
  What meaneth June, to hap us every year?

The spirit of the flowers is watching now,
As winking in the sun they suck the dew,
The thickets parley with the splendid fields—
  What meaneth June, to hap us every year?

Up where the brook laps round the shining flags,
And tinkling foam bells pass the weedy shore,
And where the willow swings above the trout—
  What meaneth June, to hap us every year?

The clouds hold knowledge in their snowy peaks,
They hide it in their moving fleecy folds,
They share it with the sunset’s golden isles—
  What meaneth June, to hap us every year?

Fullness and sweetness, and the power of life,
Must I in ignorance remain alone,
And yield the quest of speech for certain proof?
  What meaneth June, to hap us every year?

Sweetness and beauty, and the power of life,
Is it creation’s anthem—parts for all?
Is this the knowledge—will you answer me
  What meaneth June, to hap us every year?