Spring in Kashmir

What a beautiful spring,
With singing Orioles and Bulbuls on wing.
As blooming flowers in breezes swing
And the larks go hey ding, a-ding, a-ding!
The chilly frozen plains that formed a slippery bed,
Have melted and gone to make room for roses red!
No more do young or old lay indoors as if dead;
But mirthful children skip and run with pale faces turned red!
Flower vendors do brisk business and plenty of sales
As Narcissus-like flowers of different hues appear in the vales;
Fledglings grow wings and the boys no longer listen to tales,
The girls dance and drink milk in pails.
In the splendid spring:
The boys eat, drink and make merry meet,
The old and infirm bask in the spring sun
And the women entertain with dishes sweet,
While busy bees, from flower to flower, buzz, flutter and run!