Early May in New England / Percy MacKaye

Early May in New England

Strawberry-flower and violet
Are come, but the wind blows coldly yet;
And robin's-egg skies brood sunny chill
Where hyacinth summer sleeps under the hill
     And the frog is still.

Applebloom floats on the warm blue river.
But white shad-blossoms ripple and shiver,
And purple-grackle pipes till his blithe heart grieves,
For his gladdest songs, through the little elm-leaves,
     Are but make-believes.

~~
Percy MacKaye (1875-1956)
from The Sistine Eve, and other poems, 1915

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

Percy MacKaye biography