Welcome, Maids Of Honor

Welcome, maids of honour,
You do bring
In the Spring;
And wait upon her.

She has virgins many,
Fresh and fair;
Yet you are
More sweet than any.

You're the maiden posies;
And so graced,
To be placed
'Fore damask roses.

Yet, though thus respected,
By and by
Ye do lie,
Poor girls, neglected.

"Welcome, mighty chief, once more
Welcome to this grateful shore;
Now no mercenary foe
Aims again the fatal blow,--
Aims at thee the fatal blow.


"Virgins fair and matrons grave,
Those thy conquering arm did save,
Build for thee triumphal bowers;
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers,--
Strew your hero's way with flowers."

    "'Y' are the maiden posies,
    And so graced,
    To be placed
    Fore damask roses.
    Yet, though thus respected,
    By and by
    Ye do lie,
    Poor girls, neglected.'

    'Sweetest of maidens, oh, how can I tell
    The love that transfigures the whole earth to me?
    The longing that causes my bosom to swell,
    When I dream of a life all devoted to thee?'

Oh! gladly do we welcome thee,
    Fair pleasant month of May;
Month which we've eager longed to see,
    Through many a wintry day:
And now with countless budding flowers,
    With sunshine bright and clear -
To gild the quickly fleeting hours -
    At length, sweet month, thou'rt here!

But, yet, we do not welcome thee
    Because thy genial breath
Hath power our sleeping land to free
    From winter's clasp of death;
Nor yet because fair flowers are springing
    Beneath thy genial ray;
And thousand happy birds are singing
    All welcome to thee, May!

No, higher, nobler cause have we
    These bright days to rejoice -
'Twas God ordained that thou should'st be
    The loved month of our choice:
It is because thou hast been giv...

"Dear Grif,
Here is a whiff
Of beautiful spring flowers;
The big red rose
Is for your nose,
As toward the sky it towers.


"Oh, do not frown
Upon this crown
Of green pinks and blue geranium
But think of me
When this you see,
And put it on your cranium."