With musical clear call at sunrise and again at sunset,
Or flitting among the trees of the apple-orchard, building the
nest of his mate,
The melted snow of March, the willow sending forth its
yellow-green sprouts,
For spring-time is here! the summer is here! and what is this in
it and from it?
Thou, soul, unloosen'd--the restlessness after I know not what;
Come, let us lag here no longer, let us be up and away!

O if one could but fly like a bird!
O to escape, to sail forth as in a ship!
To glide with thee, O soul, o'er all, in all, as a ship o'er
the waters;
Gathering these hints, the preludes, the blue sky, the grass,
the morning drops of dew,
The lilac-scent, the bushes with dark-green heart-shaped leaves,
Wood-violets, the little delicate pale blossoms called innocence,
Samples and sorts not for themselves alone, but for their atmosphere,
To grace the bush I love--to sing with the birds,
A warble for joy of lilac-time, returning in reminiscence.


SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY

What is the meaning of "sort me"? Why jumble all these signs of summer
together? Does one naturally think in an orderly way when recalling the
details of spring or summer? Can you think of any important points that
the author has left out? Is _samples_ a poetic word? What is meant by
the line "not for themselves alone," etc.? Note the sound-words in the