Part 6 (1/2)

I

In the jolly winters Of the long-ago, It was not so cold as now-- O! No! No!

Then, as I remember, s...o...b..a.l.l.s to eat Were as good as apples now.

And every bit as sweet!

II

In the jolly winters Of the dead-and-gone, Bub was warm as summer, With his red mitts on,-- Just in his little waist- And-pants all together, Who ever hear him growl About cold weather?

III

In the jolly winters Of the long-ago-- Was it HALF so cold as now?

O! No! No!

Who caught his death o' cold, Making prints of men Flat-backed in snow that now's Twice as cold again?

IV

In the jolly winters Of the dead-and-gone, Startin' out rabbit-huntin'-- Early as the dawn,-- Who ever froze his fingers, Ears, heels, or toes,-- Or'd 'a' cared if he had?

n.o.body knows!

V

Nights by the kitchen-stove, Sh.e.l.lin' white and red Corn in the skillet, and Sleepin' four abed!

Ah! the jolly winters Of the long-ago!

We were not as old as now-- O! No! No!

JUNE

O queenly month of indolent repose!

I drink thy breath in sips of rare perfume, As in thy downy lap of clover-bloom I nestle like a drowsy child and doze The lazy hours away. The zephyr throws The s.h.i.+fting shuttle of the Summer's loom And weaves a damask-work of gleam and gloom Before thy listless feet. The lily blows A bugle-call of fragrance o'er the glade; And, wheeling into ranks, with plume and spear, Thy harvest-armies gather on parade; While, faint and far away, yet pure and clear, A voice calls out of alien lands of shade:-- All hail the Peerless G.o.ddess of the Year!

THE TREE-TOAD