Winter-thought / Archibald Lampman

Winter-thought

The wind-swayed daisies, that on every side
    Throng the wide fields in whispering companies,
    Serene and gently smiling like the eyes
Of tender children long beatified,
The delicate thought-wrapped buttercups that glide
    Like sparks of fire above the wavering grass,
    And swing and toss with all the airs that pass,
Yet seem so peaceful, so preoccupied;

These are the emblems of pure pleasures flown,
    I scarce can think of pleasure without these.
Even to dream of them is to disown
    The cold forlorn midwinter reveries,
Lulled with the perfume of old hopes new-blown,
    No longer dreams, but dear realities.

~~
Archibald Lampman (1861-1899)
from Among the Millet, and other poems, 1888

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

Archibald Lampman biography

Evelyn Simak, Buttersups in the marshes, 2008 (detail). CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons