Out peeps the Crocus from its nook,
And looks with timid eye,
To see if on the Snowdrop's neck
A blight, like frost, may lie:
But lo! the expanded Primrose smiles,
And the Violet bids it hail,
And freely in the morning beam
Refresh its colors pale.
It sees the bright Hepatica
With the buxom Daisies play
Their merry game of hide and seek,
Until the closing day,
It marks against the sheltering wall
The Almond's broidered vest,
And the princely Peach and Apricot,
In all their glory drest,
Then boldly puts the Crocus on
Her robe of varied die,
And to the banquet-hall of Spring
Doth enter joyously.
The mighty city hath a world
Within its heaving breast,
And there the pulse of busy life
Doth never pause nor rest.