Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


AUTUMNAL CHARACTERISTICS by NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

Poem Explanation

First Line: IN SUNNY SPOTS OF WOODLAND, BOYS ARE GATHERING WALNUTS, AND SHOUTING
Last Line: PITY, THAT THE FROSTY NIGHT WILL SO SOON STOP THEIR MUSIC!
Subject(s): AUTUMN; OCTOBER; SEASONS;

In sunny spots of woodland, boys are gathering walnuts, and shouting,
Roaming with unchecked freedom, where the tall trees stand about;
Now, with sturdy sticks, they quicken the clustered nuts down from the branches,
While the brown nuts come showering down, in rustling showers to the ground.
Yet there mingles a melancholy with the heart's exhilaration,
As we tread the rustling leaves, with a sound so like to the dead,
Looking up with a shiver at the wintry sky, so gray and clouded,
With a feeling of sad unrest, with a sigh for the summer fled.
Now the cricket's chirping sweetly, from among the withered grasses,
Chirping cheerily, cheerily, so faintly and far away,
Pity, that the frosty night will so soon stop their music!




Home: PoetryExplorer.net