Lines Written in Early Spring

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Though Coleridge's most recognized poem is The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Lines Written in Early Spring is part of Coleridge's collection in conjunction with William Wordsworth, Lyrical Ballads, With a Few Other Poems (1798).

An illustration for the story Lines Written in Early Spring by the author Samuel Taylor Coleridge — George Bellows, The Grove, Monhegan, Maine, 1913

I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it griev'd my heart to think
What man has made of man.

Through primrose-tufts, in that sweet bower,
The periwinkle trail'd its wreathes;
And 'tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopp'd and play'd:
Their thoughts I cannot measure,
But the least motion which they made,
It seem'd a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.

If I these thoughts may not prevent,
If such be of my creed the plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?

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