Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LAST AUTUMN, by GEORGE H. DILLON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LAST AUTUMN, by                    
First Line: Sparrows flock into a tree out of the gutter
Last Line: And it is shadows I keep.
Subject(s): Shadows; Sparrows


Sparrows flock into a tree out of the gutter
As if last summer's leaves were blowing somehow
On to the branches again with a quick flutter.
They will be here all winter now,
Swarming from tree to gutter, from gutter to bough.
They are most meager of the meagerness we have kept,
After the loud leaves going in hurried herds,
After the rain has washed, and the wind has swept.

Earth's clear incredible music dies in a rush
Of red on the wind. Out of a furious hush
I hear the cold calm voices of these birds.
They are more real than butterfly or thrush.

Indurate brood, who endlessly chatter and cheep,
You are the fragments of a night no sun
Can scatter. You are less birds than shadows spun
Out of a tired brain in a troubled sleep.
And it is shadows I keep.





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