In Shadow.

I dreaded that first robin so,     But he is mastered now,     And I 'm accustomed to him grown, --     He hurts a little, though.     I thought if I could only live     Till that first shout got by,     Not all pianos in the woods     Had power to mangle me.     I dared not meet the daffodils,     For fear their yellow gown     Would pierce me with a fashion     So foreign to my own.     I wished the grass would hurry,     So when 't was time to see,     He 'd be too tall, the tallest one     Could stretch to look at me.     I could not bear the bees should come,     I wished they 'd stay away     In those dim countries where they go:     What word had they for me?     They 're here, though; not a creature failed,     No blossom stayed away     In gentle deference to me,     The Queen of Calvary.     Each one salutes me as he goes,     And I my childish plumes     Lift, in bereaved acknowledgment     Of their unthinking drums.