An April Afternoon Poem by Alexander Anderson

A gladness pulses through the earth,
And with a gentle sound
The rain comes down to give green birth
To all the buds around.


It is a tender afternoon,
As sweet as sweet can be,
And all the winds are in one tune—
They sing their songs to me.


I see the river full of light
That, gliding slowly by,
Takes onward with it to the sight
A little breadth of sky.


The birds are up and on the wing,
They pipe by glen and wood,
They have but one sweet wish to sing,
Nor wonder why they should.


A tender spirit over all,
Like one vast blessing lies,
And where his unseen fingers fall,
A thousand wonders rise.


For field and tree and waving grass
Flush into green and blow—
The earth is younger than it was
A thousand years ago.