Ode to April.
O thou that openest, and no man shuts,
That shut'st, and no man opens—Thee we wait,
More lovingly than the black, frost-bound lands
Desire the budding green. Awakener, come!
Fling wide the gate of an eternal year,—
The April of that glad new heavens and earth,
Which shall grow out of these, as Spring-tide
grows
Slow from out Winter's breast.
Let Thy wide hand
Gather us all, with none left out (O God,
Leave Thou out none) from the east and from
the west.
Loose Thou our burdens; heal our sicknesses;
Give us one heart, one tongue, one faith, one
Son,—
In Thy great Oneness made complete and strong,
To do Thy work throughout the happy world,
Thy world, All-merciful, Thy perfect world.
