Lusty May

What potent blood hath modest May.- Ralph W. Emerson





In somer when the shawes be sheyne,
And leves be large and long,
Hit is full merry in feyre foreste
To here the foulys song.

To see the dere draw to the dale
And leve the hilles hee,
And shadow him in the leves grene
Under the green-wode tree.

Hit befell on Whitsontide
Early in a May mornyng,
The Sonne up faire can shyne,
And the briddis mery can syng.
- Anonymous, May in the Green Wode, 15h Century





The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit;
for like as herbs and trees bring forth fruit and flourish in May, in likewise every lusty heart that is in
any manner a lover, springeth and flourisheth in lusty deeds. For it giveth unto all lovers courage,
that lusty month of May.- Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur




Now every field is clothed with grass, and every tree with leaves; now the woods put forth their
blossoms, and the year assumes its gay attire.
- Virgil




The new earth quickens as you rise.
The May Queen is waiting.
Feel the pulsing ground call you to journey,
To know the depths of your desire.
The May Queen is waiting.
Moving through the night, the bright moon's flight.
In green and silver on the plain.
She waits for you to return again.
Do not keep Her waiting.
Her temper stings if you refuse to taste Her honey.
Surrender as enchantment brings
The first light of dawning.
Move with Her in sacred dance, through fear to feeling.
Bringing ecstasy to those who dare.
Living earth is breathing.
Loving through the night in the bright moonlight,
As seedlings open with the rain.
She'll long for you to return again.
Do not keep Her waiting.
- Ruth Barren, The May Queen is Waiting





Sweet May hath come to love us,
Flowers, trees, their blossoms don;
And through the blue heavens above us
The very clouds move on.- Heinrich Heine, Book of Songs