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As spring the winter does succeed,
And leaves the naked trees do dress,
The earth all black is clothed in green;
At sunshine each their joy express.
My sun’s returned with healing wings.
My soul and body do rejoice;
My heart exults and praises sings
To You who heard my wailing voice.
My winter’s past, my storms are gone,
And former clouds now seem all fled;
But, if they must eclipse again,
I’ll run where I was amply fed.
I have a shelter from the storm,
A shadow from the fainting heat;
I have access unto Your throne
You who are God so wondrous great.
Anne Bradstreet (c.1612–1672), an immigrant from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was the first woman to have her writings published in America. From a prominent Puritan family, both her father and husband served as governors of the colony. Bradstreet wrote on domestic and religious themes. Her poems document the difficulties of being a woman in Puritan New England. She was America’s first published poet. For her full biography, click here.