To The Daisy
Oh, flower meek and modest
That blooms of all the soonest,
Some great delight possesses me
When thy soft crystal bud I see.
Thou art the first of the year
To break the bonds of winter,
And for thy gallant enterprise
I'll welcome thee and sing thy praise.
And hast thou no misgiving?
Or fear of tempests howling
To issue from the hardy sod
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Before thy sisters break their pod?
Behind thee millions lie
And hide their faces shy,
Lest winter's cold continue,
Or tempests charged with mildew.
Inform thy sisters coy
The spring's without alloy,
Tell them there is no snow
Or icy wind to blow.
Tell them the cattle meek
Will joy their heads to seek,
The lamb delighted be
To see them on the lea.
Speed therefore all ye flowers
That gleam upon the pastures,
Ye white and yellow come
And make the field your smiling home.
A thousand times more comely
Your cheerful features lively,
Than all the gems that shine
In royal crown of princely line.
How pleasant then to roam
Through field and forest home,
And listen to the song
Of birds that carol long.