I have seen a bluebird on the wing Above a field in gold and scarlet hue; A spray of apple blossoms in the spring In shimmering light against a sky of blue.
I have known the joy of perfect days, A grassy bank, a stream in jeweled glow; Then oak and maple leaves in autumn blaze, And pines in winter, aureoled in snow.
Steinman's poem is a quiet list of things the speaker has been lucky enough to see. Nothing dramatic happens. A bluebird flies over a golden field, apple blossoms glow against the sky, a stream shines in the sun. Then the seasons turn: oak and maple leaves flare up in autumn, and pines stand wrapped in snow. By the end, the poem has moved through a whole year without ever announcing it.
The title tells you what the speaker feels. "This Gladness I Have Known" is simple gratitude, and the repeated "I have" makes each image sound like a treasured memory, something looked back on with contentment rather than sadness. The mood is calm, bright, and slightly nostalgic. The language leans toward glow and shimmer: "jeweled," "aureoled," "blaze." Even winter, usually a bleak season in poems, feels warm and golden here. The poem's point seems to be that joy often lives in ordinary natural moments.