March the Third + 

Here again (she said) is March the third + 

And twelve hours singing for the bird + 

’Twixt dawn and dusk, from half past six + 

To half past six, never unheard. + 

’Tis Sunday, and the church-bells end + 

When the birds do. I think they blend + 

Now better than they will when passed + 

Is this unnamed, unmarked godsend. + 

Or do all mark, and none dares say, + 

How it may shift and long delay, + 

Somewhere before the first of Spring, + 

But never fails, this singing day? + 

And when it falls on Sunday, bells + 

Are a wild natural voice that dwells + 

On hillsides; but the birds’ songs have + 

The holiness gone from the bells. + 

This day unpromised is more dear + 

Than all the named days of the year + 

When seasonable sweets come in, + 

Because we know how lucky we are. + 