So dull and dark are the November days. The lazy mist high up the evening curled, And now the morn quite hides in smoke and haze; The place we occupy seems all the world.
—John ClareOn the last of October When dusk is fallen Children join hands And circle round me Singing ghost songs And love to the harvest moon.
—Carl SandburgI stood in the disenchanted field Amid the stubble and the stones, Amazed, while a small worm lisped to me The song of my marrow-bones.
—Stanley KunitzThe maple wears a gayer scarf, The field a scarlet gown. Lest I should be old-fashioned, I’ll put a trinket on.
—Emily DickinsonThoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe.
—John LennonThe promises have gone, Gone, gone, and they were here just now There is the sky where they laid their fish. Soon it will be evening.
—W. S. MerwinCape Cod kids ain’t got no sleds They slide down the hills on codfish heads Cape Cod girls ain’t got no frills They tie their hair with codfish gills.
—Baby GrampsAlthough it is a cold evening, Down by one of the fishhouses An old man sits netting, His net, In the gloaming almost invisible.
—Elizabeth BishopA boy and his dad on a fishing-trip — There is a glorious fellowship! Father and son and the open sky And the white clouds lazily drifting by.
—Edgar A. GuestBy all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer’s best of weather And autumn’s best of cheer.
—Helen Hunt JacksonThe wind blows Through the doors of my heart. It scatters my sheet music That climbs like waves from the piano, free of the keys.
—Deborah DiggesWarm summer sun, shine kindly here; Warm southern wind, blow softly here; Green sod above, lie light, lie light — Good night, dear heart, good night, good night.
—Mark TwainHow sociable the garden was. We ate and talked in given light. The children put their toys to grass All the warm wakeful August night.
—Thomas GunnUnder Orion on the green-waved lawn I float, high — New moon, old craft Tide strong as ever to the sheer horizon.
—Rose StyronThe moon is at her full, and riding high, Floods the calm fields with light. The airs that hover in the summer sky Are all asleep to-night.
—William Cullen BryantHe stood beside a cottage lone And listened to a lute, One summer’s eve, when the breeze was gone, And the nightingale was mute.
—Thomas K. HerveySleepy and suburban at dusk, I learn again the yard’s geometry, edging around the garden and the weedy knots of flowers.
—Robert WrigleyLife has loveliness to sell, All beautiful and splendid things, Blue waves whitened on a cliff, Soaring fire that sways and sings, And children’s faces looking up, Holding wonder like a cup.
—Sara TeasdaleI am waiting for my case to come up And I am waiting For a rebirth of wonder And I am waiting for someone To really discover America.
—Lawrence FerlinghettiPeacefully The quiet stars came out, one after one; The holy twilight fell upon the sea, The summer day was done.
—Celia Thaxter