When Summer Comes / Sophia Almon Hensley

When Summer Comes

When summer comes, and when o’er hill and lea
The sun’s strong wooing glow hath patiently
             Shed o’er the earth long days his golden dower,
             And then, by force of his own loving power,
Drawn the hard frost, and left it passive, free
To give forth all its sweets untiringly,
Shall not the day rise fair for thee and me,
             And all life seem but as an opening flower
                         When summer comes?

The days move slowly, young hearts yearn to be
Together always, cannot brook to see
             Their love-days pass, and void each sunny hour,
             Yet may we smile, e’en when fate’s storm-clouds lower,
Waiting fulfilment of our heart’s decree
                         When summer comes.

~~
Sophia Almon Hensley (1856-1946)
from Poems, 1889

[Poem is in the public domain in Canada and the United States]

Sophia Almon Hensley biography

(Poem begins at 8:52)