By Rosie Moore
Why does Fall/Autumn have two names? Autumn, a Latin word, first appears in English in the late 14th century. In the 17th century Fall came into use and meant the act of taking in crops. By the 19th century fall became an “Americanism” primarily used in the U.S. and frowned upon by the British. It doesn’t matter what it’s called, it is the most beautiful time of the year. Let’s look at some beautiful poems that describe Autumn.
My grandmother wrote this lovely autumn poem when she was nineteen years old. According to my calculations it was written in the year 1904.
“Oh, the glory of the autumn
When the woodland’s all-ablaze;
When the trees in gay apparel
Tell of crisp October days.
When the wind starts moaning softly
And the crackling leaves go drifting by,
The chilling brook, a silvered mirror,
Reflects the deep blue of the sky.
When chestnuts burst from bristling burrs,
To fall among the leaves,
The little squirrel awaiting there
His winter store receives
When at eventide the king of day
Sinks slowly in the west.
When over every hill and vale
He paints crimson crest
‘Tis twilight now, the year is spent
Night songs are in the air
Mother nature tucks the flowers in bed
While she kneels down in prayer
We thank thee, Lord, for beauties past
For golden sunlit days
For bounteous harvest gathered in,
We lift our hearts to thee in praise.”
A man named Jospeh Renaldi wrote a lovely poem. I couldn’t find much information about him except that he was a writer:
Once up an Autumn day
Colorful leaves begin to fade
In the midst of a chilly, frosty air
As multitudes of trees grew steadily bare.
Once upon an Autumn day,
The whispering breeze was here to stay
Moving aimlessly through the countless trees
Scattering leaves with the greatest of ease.
Once upon an autumn day
The trees were dormant and the leaves lay
Waiting for the winter snow to fall
To quickly obscure them one and all.
Last, but not least, my favorite Autumn poem which is also a beautiful, haunting song, sung by many, but my favorite rendition is by Nat King Cole.
Autumn Leaves:
The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold.
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sunburned hands I used to hold.
Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song.
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall.”
Happy autumn to everyone!
Thought for the day: I thank you, God, for this most amazing day. For the leaping green spirits of trees and for the blue dream of sky, and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. e.e.Cummings
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