I would some year my life were like this day -- This autumn day, when but a few remain Before cold flakes descend upon the plain -- A revery with face turned back to May. The crops are harvested and stored away, The leaves are shed; amid the stubble grain The bonfires smoke, like incense in a fane, A cleansing rite the fertile furrows pay. Earth's labor done, before December snows, These last warm days turn back to merry Spring And dream along the fragrant path they came. Happy the life that pausing at its close, Can smile upon the past without a sting, And smiling turn to pay death's wintry claim. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE ARAB TO THE PALM by BAYARD TAYLOR THE GALLOWS by PHILIP EDWARD THOMAS LINES by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS MOTHER AND CHILD (WAR VICTIMS) by EVELYN D. BANGAY LILIES: 13. 'LET US NEVER COMFORT EACH OTHER INTO SLEEP' by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) INTO CAPTIVITY by ALEXANDER BROWN THE LAND OF EXILE by CH'U YUAN SONG TO AELLA LORD OF THE CASTLE OF BRISTOL IN DAYS OF YORE by THOMAS CHATTERTON |