Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей)
Sweethearts of the Year
Sweetheart Spring Our Sweetheart, Spring, came softly, Her gliding hands were fire, Her lilac breath upon our cheeks Consumed us with desire. By her our God began to build, Began to sow and till. He laid foundations in our loves For every good and ill. We asked Him not for blessing, We asked Him not for pain — Still, to the just and unjust He sent His fire and rain. Sweetheart Summer We prayed not, yet she came to us, The silken, shining one, On Jacob’s noble ladder Descended from the sun. She reached our town of Every Day, Our dry and dusty sod — We prayed not, yet she brought to us The misty wine of God. Sweetheart Autumn The woods were black and crimson, The frost-bit flowers were dead, But Sweetheart Indian Summer came With love-winds round her head. While fruits God-given and splendid Belonged to her domain: Baskets of corn in perfect ear And grapes with purple stain, The treacherous winds persuaded her Spring Love was in the wood Altho’ the end of love was hers — Fruition, Motherhood. Sweetheart Winter We had done naught of service To win our Maker’s praise. Yet Sweetheart Winter came to us To gild our waning days. Down Jacob’s winding ladder She came from Sunshine Town, Bearing the sparkling mornings And clouds of silver-brown; Bearing the seeds of Springtime. Upon her snowy seas Bearing the fairy star-flowers For baby Christmas trees.
Vachel Lindsay’s other poems:
- The Potatoes’ Dance
- I Heard Immanuel Singing
- When Gassy Thompson Struck It Rich
- The Tree of Laughing Bells
- Where Is David, the Next King of Israel?
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