Published Works

Books by Whitman

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [begin page 399] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SOON SHALL THE WINTER'S FOIL BE HERE.

Soon shall the winter's foil be here;

Soon shall these icy ligatures unbind and melt—A little while,

And air, soil, wave, suffused shall be in softness, bloom and
growth—a thousand forms shall rise

From these dead clods and chills as from low burial graves.

Thine eyes, ears—all thy best attributes—all that takes cognizance
of natural beauty,

Shall wake and fill. Thou shalt perceive the simple shows, the
delicate miracles of earth,

Dandelions, clover, the emerald grass, the early scents and flow-
ers,

The arbutus under foot, the willow's yellow-green, the blossom-
ing plum and cherry;

With these the robin, lark and thrush, singing their songs—the
flitting bluebird;

For such the scenes the annual play brings on.

Distributed under a Creative Commons License. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price, editors.