October 31, 2009

A Poem for the Last Day of October

October's Bright Blue Weather
O sun and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather;
When loud the bumble-bees make haste,
Belated, thriftless vagrant,
And golden-rod is dying fast
And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
When Gentians roll their fringes tight
To save them for the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
Without a sound of warning;
When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And redder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
And in the fields, still green and fair,
Late aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the brooks
In idle golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers, hour by hour,
October's bright blue weather.
O suns and skies and flowers of June,
Count all your boasts together,
Love loveth best of all the year
October's bright blue weather!
~Helen Hunt Jackson (1830 - 1885)


2 comments:

  1. I notice you have a bulletin for the Vision Forum story contest! I'm entering it too. :) Of course I already have too many words...

    -Anna from ApricotPie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think sometimes it's easier to start with too much and then whittle it down and refine it. It is for me, anyway. Aren't their guidelines cool?
    Mary
    PS - so glad to see you here. Thanks for joining!

    ReplyDelete

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