5 THE MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT

While May bedecks the naked trees

With tassels and embroideries,

And many blue-eyed violets beam

Along the edges of the stream,

I hear a voice that seems to say.

Now near at hand, now far away,

“Witchery — witchery — witchery.”

An incantation so serene,

So innocent, befits the scene;

There’s magic in that small bird’s note —

See, there he flits — the Yellow-Throat,

A living sunbeam, tipped with wings,

A spark of light that shines and sings,

“Witchery — witchery — witchery!”

You prophet with a pleasant name,

If out of Mary-land you came,

You know the way that thither goes

Where Mary’s lovely garden grows;

Fly swiftly back to her, I pray,

And try to call her down this way,

“Witchery — witchery — witchery!”

Tell her to leave her cockle-shells

And all her little silver bells

That blossom into melody.

And all her maids less fair than she.

She does not need these pretty things,

For everywhere she comes, she brings

The woods are greening overhead.

And flowers adorn each mossy bed;

The waters babble as they run —

One thing is lacking, only one:

If Mary were but here today,

I would believe your charming lay,

For everywhere she comes, she brings

Along the shady road I look —

Who’s coming now across the brook?

A woodland maid, all robed in white —

The leaves dance round her with delight,

The stream laughs out beneath her feet —

Sing, merry bird, the charm’s complete,

For everywhere she comes, she brings

( Henry van Dyke )

Biography

Henry van Dyke (1852-1933) was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, but while he was still a small boy, his parents moved to Brooklyn, New York. He was graduated from Princeton College in 1873 and from the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1877. For several years he was pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. Later he was made professor of English Literature at Princeton University, and returned to that position after serving as United States Minister to Holland during the early years of the World War. He has written many stories and poems of great literary charm.

Word list

bedeck : decorate

witchery : magic

lay : song

You Practice

Answer the following questions.

1) What bird does the poet celebrate in this poem?

2) What picture does the first stanza give you

3) What does the Yellow - Throat seem to say?

4) Why is the bird called a prophet?

5) What is the name of the “woodland maid”?