Classic Poem

When wintry glooms the naked world surround,
And fruitful Summer shines in all her pride,
How diff'rent Earth! 'tis now a desert wide,
And now a Paradise with beauty crown'd:
Sweet Season! haste to pour thy bloom around;
And come, ye hours, when, stretch'd along the side
Of some clear stream, which bending willows hide,
I mark each rural sight, each rural sound;
When, as high-thron'd the blazing sun appears,
I muse my being in the solemn shade;
And pensive form at eve some tender strain.
In mead or open lawn: and thank with tears
Of Joy and Gratitude the Pow'r that made
This beauteous earth, the skies, and azure main.