Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891.
AprilElizabeth Clementine (Dodge) (Stedman) Kinney (18101889)
C
Thou wearest now a smile and now a frown,
And now a pensive air, with lids cast down,
And thy sad visage with fresh tear-drops wet:
Then, all at once, thou sadness dost forget,—
Thy forehead circling with joy’s radiant crown,
And laughing gayly, with a laugh thine own—
Lovely in smiles, in tears more lovely yet.
Thy favorites are not princes of the earth,
Nor gay gallants; but sons of lowly birth—
For ploughman and for planter are thy wiles;
Thy bird-toned voice calls rustics from the hearth
To labor, while thy presence care beguiles,
And quickens precious seed beneath thy tears and smiles.