Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: A BIRTHDAY SONG. TTHE rose-time and the roses Call to me, dove of mine; I hear the birdsong-closes Ring out in the sunshine; In all the wood-reposes There runs a magic wine Of music all divine. All things have scent and singing; The happy earth is ringing With praise of love and June : Have I alone no tune, No sound of music-making To greet my love's awaking This golden summer noon ? Ah, love! my roses linger For sunshine of thine eyes; For Love the music-bringer, My linnets wait to rise ; All dumb are birds and singer: The song in kisses dies And sound of happy sighs. What need of songs and singing, When love for us is ringing Bells of enchanted gold ? Dear, whilst my arms enfold My love, our kisses fashion Tunes of more perfect passion Than verses new or old. VIRELAY. A S I sate sorrowing, Love came and bade me sing A joyous song and meet: For see (said he) each thing Is merry for the Spring, And every bird doth greet The break of blossoming, That all the woodlands ring Unto the young hours' feet . Wherefore put off defeat And rouse thee to repeat The chime of merles that go, With flutings shrill and sweet, In every green retreat, The tune of streams that flow And mark the young hours' beat With running ripples fleet And breezes soft and low. For who should have, I trow, Such joyance in the glow And pleasance of the May— In all sweet bells that blow, In death of winter's woe And birth of Springtide gay, When in wood-walk and row Hand-link'd the lovers go— As he to whom alway God giveth, day by day, To set to roundelay The sad and sunny hours— To weave into a lay Life's golden years and grey, Its sweet and bitter flowers— To sweep, with hands that stray In many a devious way, I... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.