the chant of birds

"Then the chant
Of birds, and chime of brooks, and soft caress
Of the fresh sylvan air, made me forget
The thoughts that broke my peace, and I began
To gather simples by the fountain’s brink,
And lose myself in day-dreams. While I stood
In Nature’s loneliness, I was with one
With whom I early grew familiar, one
Who never had a frown for me, whose voice
Never rebuked me for the hours I stole
From cares I loved not, but of which the world
Deems highest, to converse with her."

- A Winter Piece, William Cullen Bryant

It's a portion of a quite long poem by new favorite nature-y poet William Cullen Bryant, who I remember reading in high school and not caring about. But "I began to gather simples . . ." what a line! I just love this section of the poem, and it is perfect for the craziness of papers and finals.

The flowers across campus are just finishing their first spring blow-out bloom, daffodils and tulips galore, but the lilacs and magnolias by the library smell so amazing that the whole campus goes sweet at night. Fitting in a bike ride here and there.

Ciao!