William Watson

Mensis Lacrimarum

     (MARCH 1885)

March, that comes roaring, maned, with rampant paws,
      And bleatingly withdraws;
March,—'tis the year's fantastic nondescript,
      That, born when frost hath nipped
The shivering fields, or tempest scarred the hills,
      Dies crowned with daffodils.
The month of the renewal of the earth
      By mingled death and birth:
But, England! in this latest of thy years
      Call it—the Month of Tears.