O sister!‘ tis day-time,
The world's happy May-time,
Come out to the woods where the new nests are!
‘ Tis sin to be pining,
The hedge-drops are shining,
And the wild winds have fled to the snow-lands far.
O come! and be merry,
For white blows the cherry,
The bluebells ring out on their stem so tall:
Each cowslip's dear yellow
Cries joy to its fellow,
And the wind-flowers dance to the cuckoo's call.
O what is the sun for?
Come, grief is all done for,
The folded leaves creep from their beds in the bough:
The seeds are awaking,
The furrows are breaking,
And the blessing of God's on the blackthorn now.