My November Guest
Robert Frost
My Sorrow, when she's here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.
Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She's glad the birds are gone away,
She's glad her simple worsted gray
Is silver now with clinging mist.
The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so wryly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.
So yes, it's November.
The days are shorter.
The days are shorter.
The wind has a chill to it which foreshadows what is to come.
Winter is not far away. No, not far at all.
All those pretty leaves now litter the yard, reminders of what was.
I don't begrudge the coming of winter, it's all part of the eternal cycle of days.
All those pretty leaves now litter the yard, reminders of what was.
I don't begrudge the coming of winter, it's all part of the eternal cycle of days.
This has been going on long before I was here.
And will continue long after I'm gone.
But for now, I'm enjoying the ride.
Wondering what comes next.
And loving every moment...
And will continue long after I'm gone.
But for now, I'm enjoying the ride.
Wondering what comes next.
And loving every moment...
One of my absolute favorite poems, memorized in 8th grade English, and can still recite it decades later.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy just about anything written by Robert Frost.
DeleteGlad you liked it!
The sensitive, poetic Sarge opens up...love it.
ReplyDeleteI knew under all that jet grease was a gentle big mush of a Sarge.
'Tis true.
DeleteI am just a big softy.
Heart o' gold and all that.
But for now, I'm enjoying the ride.
ReplyDeleteYou and James Taylor.
I kinda-sorta miss Fall up nawth. Kinda-sorta.
Yeah, the weather can be a real crap shoot in November!
DeleteGreat song by the way. Of course, you knew I liked James Taylor.
DeleteNovember poetry always reminds me of this:
ReplyDeleteIn Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae,M.D.
And the sounds of Last Post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRqMMaCZfHI
Beautiful. Thanks Dave.
DeleteWe do this poem every Memorial Day. But it always reminds me of November 11th. The guns fell silent at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.
I've only recently learned to go with the flow instead of fighting upstream using a toothpick for an oar. I used to believe I'd be lost without the seasonal changes. I used to think I couldn't survive living anywhere else but Indiana. I used to think I'd be dead long before now. Now I'm living with two seasons: HOT, and not hot. I'm learning to appreciate flat landscapes instead of hills because I can better see the sunsets. And I'm still alive....kinda....so far.
ReplyDeleteI've been all over the world and have learned to enjoy the little things. Also the quiet times and the not-so-quiet times
DeleteThere are time when the old bones would enjoy those two seasons you mention.
Another reason for me to celebrate, your blog. Very nice. I like what you have to say and how you say it.
I'm grabbing your url so I can put it up on the sidebar at my blog. It doesn't take me long to figure out if I like someone or not. You might be interested in the post I did on Monday, regarding our years on the fire department and a few close calls. I'd appreciate it. It's back a few posts. I'd put the url here, but I don't want to waste space at your place. (ps I found you through Mohave Rat)
DeleteJust read that one. Also added you to my sidebar.
DeleteGreat stuff!