The Park in Spring from <ref target="http://harlemshadows.org">Harlem Shadows: A Digital Edition</ref> This file is produced from the material at Harlem Shadows: A Digital Edition December 6, 2015 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 4.0 International This file is generated from a master file containing the text of Claude McKay's 1922 collection of poems Harlem Shadows and related documents (other appearances of McKay's poems, reviews, and related material). The base text for this file is drawn from the item listed below. Claude McKay The Park in Spring Pearson's Magazine September, 1918 276 The Park in Spring The Park in Spring The vivid grass with visible delight Springing triumphant from the pregnant earth; The butterflies, and sparrows in brief flight Chirping and dancing for the season's birth, And dandelions and rare daffodils That hold the deep-stirred heart with hands of gold And thrushes sending forth their joyous trills; Not these, not these did I at first behold; But, seated on the benches daubed with green, The human derelicts, some fast asleep, With here and there a woman wedged between, And, over all, life's shadows dark and deep: Moaning I turned away, for misery I have the strength to bear but not to see.