THE leaves are fading and falling, The winds are rough and wild, The birds have ceased their calling, But let me tell you, my child, Though day by day, as it closes, Doth darker and colder grow, The roots of the bright red roses Will keep alive in the snow. And when the winter is over, The boughs will get new leaves, The quail come back to the clover, And the swallow back to the eaves. The robin will wear on his bosom A vest that is bright and new, And the lovliest way-side blossom Will shine with the sun and dew. The leaves to-day are whirling, The brooks are all dry and dumb, But let me tell you, my darling, The spring will be sure to come. There must be rough, cold weather, And winds and rains so wild; Not all good things together Come to us here, my child. So, when some dear joy loses Its beauteous summer glow, Think how the roots of the roses Are kept alive in the snow. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE DIRTY OLD MAN by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM TO JOHN KEATS, POET, AT SPRING TIME by COUNTEE CULLEN A GARDEN SONG by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON ELEGY: 9. THE AUTUMNAL [BEAUTY] by JOHN DONNE CONSCIENCE AND REMORSE by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR NEXT DAY; IN THE TRAIN by LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA SONNET ON PIETRO REGGIO HIS SETTING TO MUSIC MR. COWLEY'S POEMS by PHILIP AYRES |