LINES WRITTEN IN EARLY SPRING
His sister Dorothy, an emotional collaborator in his experience of Nature, as her ‘Journal’ reveals, and Edward, a nephew, as far as I remember, were his companions. Nature, he thought, seemed full of life and joy; why was not mankind similarly happy?
His sister Dorothy, an emotional collaborator in his experience of Nature, as her ‘Journal’ reveals, and Edward, a nephew, as far as I remember, were his companions. Nature, he thought, seemed full of life and joy; why was not mankind similarly happy?
I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
The birds around me hopped and played,
– Their thoughts I cannot measure:-
But the least motion that they made,
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.The budding twigs spread out their fan
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?
– Their thoughts I cannot measure:-
But the least motion that they made,
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.The budding twigs spread out their fan
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?
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