This file includes Spring, March, April, April Fools Day, May, and .
Also see Rain and Rainbows, Wind, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
(Many of these page toppers were compiled by Jean Gifford.
They are for free distribution only.)
O bluebird and Robin,
O Catbird and Wren,
I want you to rent
Our bird houses again.
I'm lonely all winter
When you've gone away.
Your song is as welcome
As flowers in May.
For lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone;
the flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
Spring makes the world a happy place
You see a smile on every face.
Flowers come out and birds arrive,
Oh, isn't it grand to be alive!
The air is like a butterfly
With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks at the sky
And sings.
(Rea Williams
Across the quiet moonlit air
The cry of night owl's mourning
Joined by a chorus of coyote pups
Tells us spring's aborning.
The whole world stands in transfixed awe
Awaiting this magic moment
As nature bursts forth in all her beauty
Of glorious new arrayment.
Spring will break across the land
In bountiful re-creation
When every living creature feels
A surge of joyous elation.
Birds return in ecstatic flight,
Bees will seek the flower,
Dormant grass will raise its arms
To welcome the first spring shower.
Yes, spring has come to nature's world,
It's a time of new beginning
With birds atwitter and bees abuzz
And spiders their webs spinning.
Winter is over, the cold is gone,
Life is stirring anew
Instead of blowing drifting snow
There are diamonds in morning dew.
Now the owl is feeding his young,
The coyote pups are hunting,
It's a cheery hello to the meadow lark
and farewell to the bunting.
I'm feeling oh-so silly,
I'm all in a muddle.
Can it be spring fever
That put my feet in this puddle?
When spring begins
Again to light
Our happy world
With colors bright,
The robins all come
Back to see
How beautiful
The earth will be,
With crocus gold,
And daffodils
Lighting meadows,
Fields, and hills;
With leaves of green
And tulips gay,
And birds arriving
Every day.
(Mabel Niedermeyer)
Tops are whirling,
Kites are swirling
In the windy sky;
Hoops are rolling,
Children strolling;
Surely spring is nigh.
Brooks are flowing,
Grasses growing,
Birds are nesting, too;
Buds are breaking,
Flowers awak'ning;
Spring's come back to you!
(Faye Glover Petersen)
Why is the sky so blue and clear?
Why is the robin's song so dear?
Why is the sun so warm and bright,
filling the earth with glorious light?
Why are the fields so green today?
Why do the clouds all float away?
Why does my heart with gladness sing?
Only because it's spring!
(Robert Browning)
The year's at the spring
And the day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven:
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn:
God's in his heaven--
All's right with the world!
Since I liked being outside when I was a little girl, spring was always my favorite season. When I went to first grade we learned the names and dates for the seasons. I was so excited to find that I could count the days til spring. When I woke up that morning I was shocked to see that it was snowing and started crying. I was teased about that for years but never saw the humor in it.
back to top of pageNever mind March, we know
You're not really mad
Or angry or bad.
You're only blowing the winter away
To get the world ready
For April and May.
March is an in-between month,
When wintry winds are high.
But milder days remind us all,
Spring's coming by and by.
(Mary Carolyn Davies)
The day before April
Alone and alone,
I walked in the woods
And I sat on a stone.
I sat on a broad stone
And sang to the birds.
The tune was God's making
But I made the words.
(Sara Teasdale)
The roofs are shining from the rain,
The sparrows twitter as they fly,
And with a windy April grace
The little clouds go by.
Yet the back yards are bare and brown
With only one unchanging tree-
I could not be so sure of Spring
Save that it sings in me.
April is a rainbow month,
Of sudden springtime showers.
Bright with golden daffodils
and lots of pretty flowers.
The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. (Mark Twain)
(Poor Robin's Almanac, 1790)
The first of April, some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.
This spring . . .
The birds won't sing,
The flowers won't bud,
There'll be no rain or mud,
Grass won't turn green,
Toads won't bee seen,
Ice won't melt on stream or pool--
APRIL FOOL!
(Vivian Gouled)
On the first day of April
if someone should say,
"I'll give you a monster,
a basket of hay,
a ride in a rocket,
and ten games to play,"
just laugh and remember . . .
It's April Fool'S Day!
When I was a little girl I lived on a farm. In the spring we had a major problem with coyotes getting lambs and calves so were always on the watch for them. One April Fool's Day we were driving up our long driveway when I got the idea that saying I say a coyote would be a good April Fools joke. As soon as I said the words my mother turned to look and drove into a deep ditch. The car had some damage and we had to walk half a mile to get someone to pull the car out and repair it. It was many years later that I told her I didn't really see a coyote.(Denny Davis)
back to top of page(Sara Teasdale)
The spring is fresh and fearless
And every leaf is new,
The world is brimmed with moonlight,
The lilac brimmed with dew.
Here in the moving shadows
I catch my breath and sing--
My heart is fresh and fearless
And over-brimmed with spring.
(from a poem by William Henry Davies)
Yes, I will spend the livelong day
With Nature in this month of May;
And sit beneath the trees, and share
My bread with birds whose homes are there;
While cows lie down to eat, and sheep
Stand to their necks in grass so deep;
While birds do sing with all their might,
As though they felt the earth in flight.
(Leland B. Jacobs)
May opened up her basket,
and I looked in to see
A sky of blue,
The great sun too,
Both smiling out at me.
May opened up her basket,
And out the flowers fell.
Their fragrance spilled
Until it filled
All nature with its spell.
There are many different theories about how May Day got started. In Celtic tradition, the night of April 30 was thought of as the darkest of the year and a time when witches spread evil throughout the land. People pounded on kettles, slammed doors, rang church bells and made all the noise they could to scare off the witches. They lit bonfires and kept vigil until dawn on May first.
Another version of the May Day tradition is that it was a day to celebrate the coming of Summer. People gathered flowers and put them by their doors and windows to keep out troublesome fairies. They cut down a tree and put up a Maypole in the center of their village. Ribbons were attached to the tree and woven together by dancers. In more modern times people fill May Baskets with flowers and secretly leave them on the doorsteps of friends and loved ones.
Some people associate May Day with the pagan festival of Beltaine. Others say it originated with the celebration of the Roman goddess Flora and spread throughout the Roman Empire. In both of those cases it was about human fertility and the renewal of nature.
(Kristine Wagoner)
May Day's here, May Day's here,
Sun shines bright, sun shines bright.
Birds and butterflies are in flight,
Blooming flowers--such a sight!
Everything feels just right.
May Day's here!
Come all ye lads and lassies
Join in the festive scene
Come dance around the maypole
That will stand upon the green.