Poem by Henry Van Dyke

My April Lady

When down the stair at morning 
The sunbeams round her float, 
Sweet rivulets of laughter
Are bubbling in her throat;
The gladness of her greeting
Is gold without alloy;
And in the morning sunlight
I think her name is Joy. 

When in the evening twilight
The quiet book-room lies, 
We read the sad old ballads,
While from her hidden eyes 
The tears are falling, falling,
That give her heart relief; 
And in the evening twilight,
I think her name is Grief. 

My little April lady,
Of sunshine and of showers, 
She weaves the old spring magic,
And breaks my heart in flowers! 
But when her moods are ended,
She nestles like a dove;
Then, by the pain and rapture,
I know her name is Love.

1. The Gentle Traveller
2. Hesper
3. Patria
4. Sicily, December 1908
5. Storm-Music

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