FIRST days in autumn make me catch my breath In sheer amaze that I shall see again The fruitful beauty of the earth in death Across the painted pageant of the plain: A lilac dawn comes up and fades to gray, A thin white scarf of wild birds trails the sky, The sumacs fire a torch to light the day, And pearly rustlings of the frost drift by; Against the curve of distant hills, the blue Of smoky mist falls into purple night; The pale gold sickle of the moon lifts new To hew a circled radiance of dim light. How strange it is that autumn days will lend Such beauty wantonly for death to spend. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPRINGTIME by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 4. THE LOTTERY GIRL by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON MONADNOCK IN EARLY SPRING by AMY LOWELL SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: MRS. MERRITT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS IN PICCADILLY by ISAAC ROSENBERG RHYMES OF THE DAY by GEORGE SANTAYANA |