Read "The First Bird o' Spring" by Henry van Dyke online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
To Olive Wheeler / Winter on Mount Shasta, / April down below; / Golden hours of glowing sun, / Sudden showers of snow!
Under leafless thickets / Early wild-flowers cling; / But, oh, my dear, I'm fain to hear / The first bird o' Spring!
Alders are in tassel, / Maples are in bud; / Waters of the blue McCloud / Shout in joyful flood; / Through the giant pine-trees / Flutters many a wing; / But, oh, my dear, I long to hear / The first bird o' Spring!
Candle-light and fire-light / Mingle at "the Bend;"
'Neath the roof of Bo-hai-pan / Light and shadow blend.
Sweeter than a wood-thrush / A maid begins to sing; / And, oh, my dear, I'm glad to hear / The first bird o' Spring!
The Bend, California, April 29, 1913.