May in February by Marie Van Vorst
The speaker goes “a Maying” and finds Spring’s flowers as if they were the beloved’s eager wishes and tender thoughts of love. Compelled to gather the pale, slender stems and fair blossoms, she plans to wear them on her bosom so that, when he comes home at night, he will see his own loving thoughts made visible in bloom. The poem ends by calling for beloved Spring-time to come.
By Marie Van Vorst · First published 1910 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Nature Poetry · 127 words
First lines
When I go a Maying -- Maying -- / There his wanton wishes go! / Spring, like flowers, to meet me straying. / I must pluck them -- will, or no! / I must break each pale stalk slender: / I must lift each flower fair; / For I know they are the tender / Thoughts of love that greet me there.
I will wear them on my bosom. / In the night, when he comes home / He shall see his thoughts in blossom, / Oh Beloved Spring-time, / Come!
What this Textopian page supports
May in February is listed on Textopian as a poem by Marie Van Vorst, dated 1910 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Marie Van Vorst
- Date: 1910 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Nature Poetry, Pastoral Poetry, Spring Poetry
- Length: 127 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
Good citation fit
- Work identity for May in February by Marie Van Vorst
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a brief, musical first-person poem centered on personal feeling, vivid imagery, and rhythmic expression rather than narrative development.
- Love Poetry — Its speaker gathers flowers as symbols of a beloved's tender thoughts and anticipates the beloved's return, making romantic desire its central theme.
- Nature Poetry — Spring, flowers, blossoms, and the act of Maying structure the poem's imagery and connect the natural world with emotional experience.
- Pastoral Poetry — The idealized spring landscape, flower gathering, and association of nature with courtship draw on pastoral conventions.
Tags
early 20th-century fiction · American literature · romance · social drama · domestic fiction · society novel · psychological fiction · women's lives · marriage · love · family relationships · social expectations