Nature

When June Is Here

by James Whitcomb Riley 1849–1916

From Pipes O' Pan at Zekesbury (1895)

Nature

When June is here--what art have we to sing
The whiteness of the lilies midst the green
Of noon-tranced lawns? Or flash of roses seen
Like redbirds' wings? Or earliest ripening
Prince-Harvest apples, where the cloyed bees cling
Round winey juices oozing down between
The peckings of the robin, while we lean
In under-grasses, lost in marveling.
Or the cool term of morning, and the stir
Of odorous breaths from wood and meadow walks,
The bobwhite's liquid yodel, and the whir
Of sudden flight; and, where the milkmaid talks
Across the bars, on tilted barley-stalks
The dewdrops' glint in webs of gossamer.

MLA

Riley, James Whitcomb. “When June Is Here.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/riley/191/.

Chicago

Riley, James Whitcomb. “When June Is Here.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/riley/191/.

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