Classic Poem

All rosy-white the orchard shows,
All blossom-sweet the west wind blows,
And sights and scents together bring
To yearning hearts the joy of Spring.

Through sunny vapors streams the sun,
And lights and showers blend in one;
The fragrant rain through fragrance falls
And grape-vines bud on sheltering walls.

Out-warbling from his generous throat,
The golden robin's golden note
Calls to the lily and the rose
Still greenly hid in leafy close.

Hills capped with silence, as with snow,
Catch laughter faint of brooks below;
With starry dandelions gay
The meadows mimic night by day.

Dim-cloistered in the odorous wood,
A shadow-loving sisterhood,
The wild flowers that the sun forswear
Are pale as pious nuns with prayer.

Like one refreshed by balmy sleep,
Her inmost bosom warm and deep
A-throb with beauty yet unborn,
Earth breathes away the blissful morn.

From sunny nooks that dream of bloom
To where gray moss o'ergrows the tomb,
Floats everywhere that precious breath—
The Life that ever conquers Death.

This is the joy of Spring, indeed;
The witness glad to Word and Creed;
The lovely Parable of Earth
That pointeth to Immortal Birth!

Keine Blumen blühn,
Nur das Wintergrün
Blickt durch Silberhüllen,
Nur das Fenster füllen
Blümchen, roth und weiß,
Aufgeblüht aus Eis.

Ach, kein Vögelsang
Tönet süßen Klang,
Als die Winterweise
Mancher kleinen Meise,
Die am Fenster schwirrt,
Und ihr Liedchen girrt.

Minne flieht den Hain,
Wo die Vögellein,
Finken, Nachtigallen
Ihr so wohl gefallen,
Minne flieht den Hain,
Kehrt ins Zimmer ein.

Alles Kummers bar,
Werden wir fürwahr,
Unter Minnespielen,
Deinen Frost nicht fühlen,
Kalter Januar;
Walte immerdar.