Catholic Hymns (1860)/Hymn for the Month of May

by John Henry Newman

56. Hymn for the Month of May.

Green are the leaves, and sweet the flowers,
And rich the hues of May;
We see them in the gardens round,
And market-paniers gay:
And e'en among our streets and lanes,
And alleys, we descry,
By fitful gleams, the fair sunshine,
The blue transparent sky.

Chorus.

O Mother-maid, be thou our aid,
Now in the opeming year;
Lest sights of earth to sin give birth,
And bring the tempter near.

Green is the grass, but wait awhile;
'Twill grow, and then will wither;
The flowrets, brightly as they smile,
Shall perish altogether:
The merry sun, you sure would say,
It ne'er could set in gloom;
But earth's best joys have all an end,
And sin a heavy doom.

Chorus.

But Mother-maid, thou dost not fade;
With stars above thy brow,
And the pale moon beneath thy feet
For ever throned art thou.

The green green grass, the glittering grove,
The heaven's majestic dome,
They image forth a tenderer bower,
A more refulgent home;
They tell us of that paradise
Of everlasting rest,
And that high Tree, all flowers and fruit,
The sweetest yet the best.

Chorus

O Mary pure and beautiful,
Thou art the Queen of May;
Our garlands wear about thy hair,
And they will ne'er decay.

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