I HEARD a violin one day—
It sounded like the Spring;
Like woolly lambs at play,
Like baby birds that sing
In snatches, when they're learning how.
I know the one who played
Could see pink blossoms on a bough,
Where children came beneath its shade
To make white clover in a crown.
Then while they laughed there in the grass,
Soft petals fluttered down;
They hushed and saw some angels pass,
With friendly eyes that smile—
The kind that I have often seen
When mother sings awhile,
Just as I go to sleep and dream.
I held my breath and then there rose
The last sweet note so high.
I felt as when the sunshine goes—
I could not help but cry.