Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET, by M. WALTHALL JACKSON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONNET, by                    
First Line: I have not seen that maples grieve the fall
Last Line: And do not know how lovely is their death.
Subject(s): Autumn; Leaves; Seasons; Fall


I have not seen that maples grieve the Fall,
The year's excoriation of their leaves.
They doff their blaze-red scarves and orange sleeves
As gaily as they don green April's shawl.
Root-poised, aloof from seasons, deep in thrall
To some sap-urged design, each subtly weaves
Its pattern -- fragile, firm -- nor seeks reprieves
From fertile wind, nor equinoctial brawl.
Their ceaseless chemistry is fact, not duty:
The delving roots that drink the earth-spring lees,
The reaching arms and leaves that conjure breath.
Theirs is the essence of all willing beauty --
Bud, leaf, stripped bough, they live their traceries,
And do not know how lovely is their death.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net