Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/The Circle of the Golden Year
"THE CIRCLE OF THE GOLDEN YEAR"
JANUARY
The earth is white, the air is sharp and clear,
When joyous bells ring in the glad New Year;
With all its joy and grief, the old year's out—
We look not back, but welcome with a shout
The glad New Year, for all its days are ours
To live, to strive, and prove our manhoods' powers.
The earth is white, the air is sharp and clear,
When joyous bells ring in the glad New Year;
With all its joy and grief, the old year's out—
We look not back, but welcome with a shout
The glad New Year, for all its days are ours
To live, to strive, and prove our manhoods' powers.
FEBRUARY
But when the days begin to show their length,
Then winter hoar puts forth his utmost strength;
Then deeper, and still deeper, falls the snow,
And fiercer, and still fiercer wild winds blow,
Until the fields and woods are piled with drifts
And scarce a day the leaden storm cloud lifts.
But when the days begin to show their length,
Then winter hoar puts forth his utmost strength;
Then deeper, and still deeper, falls the snow,
And fiercer, and still fiercer wild winds blow,
Until the fields and woods are piled with drifts
And scarce a day the leaden storm cloud lifts.
MARCH
In March the Winter's last wild throes are seen,
With days of sunlight coming in between—
A strange commingling blast of heat and cold
And howling winds that sweep the barren wold,
The bleakest month of all the varied year,
But, at its close, the bare brown hills appear.
In March the Winter's last wild throes are seen,
With days of sunlight coming in between—
A strange commingling blast of heat and cold
And howling winds that sweep the barren wold,
The bleakest month of all the varied year,
But, at its close, the bare brown hills appear.
APRIL
Then April comes with sunshine and with showers
To start the buds and wake the sleeping flowers.
Along the fields there comes a touch of green—
Upon the trees the bursting buds are seen,
And bluebirds bright, with robins blithely sing
And all things feel the thrilling touch of spring.
Then April comes with sunshine and with showers
To start the buds and wake the sleeping flowers.
Along the fields there comes a touch of green—
Upon the trees the bursting buds are seen,
And bluebirds bright, with robins blithely sing
And all things feel the thrilling touch of spring.
MAY
In May we tread again the pleasant woods
And search the fields for sweet arbutus buds;
'Tis then the shad puts on its spotless sheen
And daffodils and adder-tongues are seen—
The orchards, too, are radiant with bloom
And all the air is filled with sweet perfume.
In May we tread again the pleasant woods
And search the fields for sweet arbutus buds;
'Tis then the shad puts on its spotless sheen
And daffodils and adder-tongues are seen—
The orchards, too, are radiant with bloom
And all the air is filled with sweet perfume.
JUNE
Oh! June, thou month of joy and love and peace
Of boundless skies soft flecked with clouds of fleece,
Of balmy winds that whisper of content—
With hedge and lawn and garden radiant
With all the sweetest, fairest flowers that blow—
Oh! June, dear June! how can I let thee go?
Oh! June, thou month of joy and love and peace
Of boundless skies soft flecked with clouds of fleece,
Of balmy winds that whisper of content—
With hedge and lawn and garden radiant
With all the sweetest, fairest flowers that blow—
Oh! June, dear June! how can I let thee go?
JULY
When July comes the broad and fertile plain
Afar and near is rich with waving grain,
With wheat and oats and fields of nodding rye
And growing corn with streamers waving high—
While from the hayfield comes the noisy song
Of cutter-bar and tedder all day long.
When July comes the broad and fertile plain
Afar and near is rich with waving grain,
With wheat and oats and fields of nodding rye
And growing corn with streamers waving high—
While from the hayfield comes the noisy song
Of cutter-bar and tedder all day long.
AUGUST
When August comes with cloudless brazen sky
Then oft the fragile flowerets droop and die,
And e'en the fresh maize curls its verdant leaves
Yet gives a promise of the golden sheaves—
And all the birds like revellers grow merry
On garden fruit and many a luscious berry.
When August comes with cloudless brazen sky
Then oft the fragile flowerets droop and die,
And e'en the fresh maize curls its verdant leaves
Yet gives a promise of the golden sheaves—
And all the birds like revellers grow merry
On garden fruit and many a luscious berry.
SEPTEMBER
The summer grain has all been harvested
And stowed away in mow and loft and shed
The corn is in the shock and golden fruit
Is ripe upon the trees, and vine and root
Have yielded up their yearly offering,
And well redeemed the promises of spring.
The summer grain has all been harvested
And stowed away in mow and loft and shed
The corn is in the shock and golden fruit
Is ripe upon the trees, and vine and root
Have yielded up their yearly offering,
And well redeemed the promises of spring.
OCTOBER
Soft hazy skies o'erarch the dreamy world
When Autumn's gorgeous pennon is unfurled,
It almost seems that June is here again
So deep the joy that fills the heart and brain—
And then there comes the falling of a leaf,
Though slight the sound it stirs the heart with grief.
Soft hazy skies o'erarch the dreamy world
When Autumn's gorgeous pennon is unfurled,
It almost seems that June is here again
So deep the joy that fills the heart and brain—
And then there comes the falling of a leaf,
Though slight the sound it stirs the heart with grief.
NOVEMBER
Sad melancholy month, with tearful skies,
When all the glad earth's verdure smitten lies—
When all the happy birds have southward flown
And through the leafless trees the shrill winds moan,
Whistling a requiem for Nature's dead,
Filling the mournful skies with clouds like lead.
Sad melancholy month, with tearful skies,
When all the glad earth's verdure smitten lies—
When all the happy birds have southward flown
And through the leafless trees the shrill winds moan,
Whistling a requiem for Nature's dead,
Filling the mournful skies with clouds like lead.
DECEMBER
Earth's sombre garb is soft with new made snow
When Christmas brings the thoughts of long ago;
Upon the cheerful hearth the Yule-log glows
And though the skies be dark with falling snows
It throws no shade upon the Christmas glee,
For Christ is King and reigns from sea to sea.
Earth's sombre garb is soft with new made snow
When Christmas brings the thoughts of long ago;
Upon the cheerful hearth the Yule-log glows
And though the skies be dark with falling snows
It throws no shade upon the Christmas glee,
For Christ is King and reigns from sea to sea.