A thousand buds are breaking Their prisons silently; A thousand birds are making Their nests in leafy tree; A thousand babes are waking On woman's breast to-day; . . . . Is born to man, to-day Beneath the sun of May: Whence come ye, babes of flowers, and, Children, whence come ye? The snow falls by thousands into the sea; A thousand blossoms covers The forsaken forest, And on its branches hovers The lark's song thousandfold; And maidens hear from lovers A thousand secrets guessed In June's abundant breast Before and yet are blessed -- Whence, blossoms rich, birds bold, beloved maidens, whence come ye? The snow falls by thousands into the sea; A thousand flowers are shedding Their leaves all dead and dry; A thousand birds are threading Their passage through the sky; A thousand mourners treading The tearful churchyard way In funeral array: Birds, whither fly ye? -- whither, dead, pass ye? The snow falls by thousands into the sea. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO THE VIRGINS, TO MAKE MUCH OF TIME by ROBERT HERRICK SUMMER (2) by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI CRY WOE, WOE, AND LET THE GOOD PREVAIL, FR. AGAMEMNON by AESCHYLUS THE PILGRIM FATHERS by LEONARD BACON (1802-1881) THE HUMMING-BIRD by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON A BOOK OF AIRS: SONG 12 by THOMAS CAMPION |