Welcome, maids of honor,
You doe bring
In the spring,
And wait upon her.

Welcome, maids of honor,
You doe bring
In the spring,
And wait upon her.

Surely as cometh the Winter, I know
There are Spring violets under the snow.

Surely as cometh the Winter, I know
There are Spring violets under the snow.

It had a dying fall;
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes read more

It had a dying fall;
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odor.

And shade the violets,
That they may bind the moss in leafy nets.

And shade the violets,
That they may bind the moss in leafy nets.

The violets thinks, with her timid blue eye,
To pass for a blossom enchantingly shy.

The violets thinks, with her timid blue eye,
To pass for a blossom enchantingly shy.

Early violets blue and white
Dying for their love of light.

Early violets blue and white
Dying for their love of light.

The violets were past their prime,
Yet their departing breath
Was sweeter, in the blast of death,
read more

The violets were past their prime,
Yet their departing breath
Was sweeter, in the blast of death,
Than all the lavish fragrance of the time.

Cold blows the wind against the hill,
And cold upon the plain;
I sit me by the read more

Cold blows the wind against the hill,
And cold upon the plain;
I sit me by the bank, until
The violets come again.

Hath the pearl less whiteness
Because of its birth?
Hath the violet less brightness
read more

Hath the pearl less whiteness
Because of its birth?
Hath the violet less brightness
For growing near earth?