June / Margaret Deland

June

Upon the breast of smiling June
     Roses and lilies lie,
And round her yet is faint perfume
     Of violets, just gone by;

Green is her gown, with 'broidery
     Of blossoming meadow grass,
That ripples like a flowing sea
     When winds and shadows pass.

Her breast is belted by the blue
     Of succory, like the sky,
And purple heart's-ease clasp her too,
     And larkspur growing high;

Laced is her bodice green with vines,
     And dew the sun has kissed,
Jewels her scarf that faintly shines,
     In folds of morning mist!

The buttercups are fringes fair
     Around her small white feet,
And on the radiance of her hair
     Fall cherry-blossoms sweet;

The dark laburnum's chains of gold
     She twists about her throat:
Perched on her shoulder, blithe and bold,
     The brown thrush sounds his note!

And blue of the far dappled sky
     That shows at warm, still noon,
Shines in her softly smiling eye.
     Oh! who's so sweet as June ?

~~
Margaret Deland (1857-1945)
from The Old Garden, and other verses, 1889

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

Margaret Deland biography

The Waits / Margaret Deland

The Waits

At the break of Christmas Day,
     Through the frosty starlight ringing,
Faint and sweet and far away,
     Comes the sound of children, singing,
          Chanting, singing,
               "Cease to mourn,
               For Christ is born,
     Peace and joy to all men bringing!"

Careless that the chill winds blow,
     Growing stronger, sweeter, clearer,
Noiseless footfalls in the snow
     Bring the happy voices nearer;
          Hear them singing,
               "Winter's drear,
               But Christ is here,
     Mirth and gladness with Him bringing!"

"Merry Christmas!" hear them say,
     As the East is growing lighter;
"May the joy of Christmas Day
     Make your whole year gladder, brighter!"
          Join their singing,
               "To each home
               Our Christ has come,
     All Love's treasures with Him bringing!"

~~
Margaret Deland (1857-1945)
from The Old Garden, and other verses, 1886

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

Margaret Deland biography

"The Waits" read by Matt Rossman. Courtesy Mended Maple Poetry.

August Wind / Margaret Deland

August Wind

The sharp wind cut a pathway through the cloud,
     And left a track of faintly shining blue;
The nunlike poplars swayed and bowed,
     And low the swallows flew!

The sudden dust whirled up the stony road,
     And blurred the brightness of the golden-rod;
The ripening milk-weed bent, and sowed
     Winged seeds at every nod;

Backward the maple tossed her feathery crown,
     Then flung her branches on the streaming air;
The brittle oak-leaves, dry and brown,
     Rustled with break and tear!

Each wayside weed was twisted like a thread;
     Then, suddenly, far up the pasture hill,
Quick as it came the gust had fled,
     And all the fields were still.

~~
Margaret Deland (1857-1945)
from The Old Garden, and other verses, 1889

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

Margaret Deland biography

Summer: A fragment / Margaret Deland

Summer 
A fragment 

High on the crest of the blossoming grasses,
Bending and swaying with face toward the sky,
Stirred by the lightest west wind as it passes,
Hosts of the silver-white daisy-stars lie!

I, looking up through the mists of the flowers,
I, lying low on the earth thrilled with June,
Give not a thought to the vanishing hours,
Save that they melt into twilight too soon!

Blossoms of peaches float down for my cover,
Snow-flakes that blushed to be kissed by the sun,
Blossoms of apples drift over and over,
White they with grief that their short day is done!

Buttercup's lanterns are lighted about me,
Burly red clover's warm cheek presses mine;
Powdery Bee never once seems to doubt me,
Tipping each chalice for Summer's new wine!

Tiny white butterflies ("Brides" children name them)
Flicker and glimmer, and turn in their flight;
Surely the sunshine suffices to tame them,
Close to my hand they will swing and alight !

Small timid breezes, than butterflies shyer,
Just for a moment soft buffet my face,
Then fly away to the tree-tops and higher,
Shaking down shadows o'er every bright space.

~~
Margaret Deland 
from The Old Garden, and other verses, 1889

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

Margaret Deland biography

Easter Music / Margaret Deland (3 poems)

EASTER MUSIC

Jonquils

Blow, golden trumpets, sweet and clear,
Blow soft upon the perfumed air;
     Bid the sad earth to join your song,
     "To Christ does victory belong!"

Oh, let the winds your message bear
To every heart of grief and care;
     Sound through the world the joyful lay,
     "Our Christ has conquered Death to-day /"

On cloudy wings let glad words fly
Through the soft blue of echoing sky :
     Ring out, O trumpets, sweet and clear,
     "Through Death immortal Life is here!"


To the Child of the Sistine Madonna

Through all the mists of years,
     One smiling baby face
Forever young appears,
     Aglow with childish grace!

O questioning sweet eyes,
     O head all golden brown,
Above thee softly lies
     The shadow of a crown!


The Message of the Lilies 

O quickening life of Easter day,
     O burst of snowy bloom :
"The Lord has risen," Lilies say,
     In gush of sweet perfume!

"Oh, lift your heads and face the sky,
     Oh, watch the brightening dawn;
For Light, and Life, and Hope are nigh,
     And Death's dark night has gone!

"Up! up! to the soft shining blue,
     The freshening wind and sun;
All Nature thrills, all life is new,
     Christ's victory is won!"

~~

Margaret Deland (1857-1945)

from The Old Garden, and other verses, 1889

[Poems are in the public domain in Canada, the United States, and the European Union]

Margaret Deland biography

Spring's Beacon / Margaret Deland

Spring's Beacon

Through the misty woodlands bare,
By the meadows brown and dead,
In the damp and chilly air,
Stand the maples tipped with red;

They are flaring signals bright,
Wav'ring 'gainst the dull, cold sky,
Heralding with ruddy light,
That the cheerful Spring is nigh.

In their kindling, flaming boughs,
Wooing Robins love and sing,
Swearing all their pretty vows,
" By the Beacon of the Spring!"

Crimson on the Robin's breast,
Crimson on the growing tree
Life and Love alike are drest,
Love and Life have come to me.

Crimson on my Love's soft cheeks
Does her sweet, shy thought confess,
When from out her heart she speaks,
To my heart the longed-for " Yes ! "

~~

Margaret Deland (1857-1945)

from The Old Garden, and other verses, 1886

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

Margaret Deland biography 

The Christmas Silence / Margaret Deland

The Christmas Silence

Hushed are the pigeons cooing low
    On dusty rafters of the loft;
    And mild-eyed oxen, breathing soft,
Sleep on the fragrant hay below.

Dim shadows in the corner hide;
    The glimmering lantern's rays are shed
    Where one young lamb just lifts his head,
Then huddles 'gainst his mother's side.

Strange silence tingles in the air;
    Through the half-open door a bar
    Of light from one low-hanging star
Touches a baby's radiant hair.

No sound: the mother, kneeling, lays
    Her cheek against the little face.
    Oh human love! Oh heavenly grace!
'Tis yet in silence that she prays!

Ages of silence end to-night;
    Then to the long-expectant earth
    Glad angels come to greet His birth
In burst of music, love, and light!

~~
Margaret Deland
from Christmas: Its origin, celebration and significance as related in prose and verse, 1907 

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

Margaret Deland biography