07 Nov
Falling Leaves and Not-So-Lonely Poets
The Falling Leaves (Sir Charles G.D. Roberts, Canadian Poet, 1860-1943)
Lightly He blows, and at His breath they fall,
The perishing kindreds of the leaves; they drift,
Spent flames of scarlet, gold aerial,
Across the hollow year, noiseless and swift.
Lightly He blows, and countless as the falling
Of snow by night upon a solemn sea,
The ages circle down beyond recalling
To strew the hollows of Eternity.
He sees them drifting through the spaces dim.
And leaves and ages are as one to Him.
Why do Ye Call the Poet Lonely (Archibald Lampman, Canadian Poet, 1861-1899)
Why do ye call the poet lonely,
Because he dreams in lonely places?
He is not desolate, but only
Sees, where ye cannot, hidden faces.
Those who give gifts of the mind, or of the mind’s eye, or of the Heart’s eye, divert flung leaves from a dying jungle’s swamps and sewers, sending them closer to home where a new child may throw handfuls of us over his face with glee.
November 7th, 2007 at 3:40 pmWONDERFUL!
November 7th, 2007 at 3:47 pmLovely, Gabrielle. I would say it would be a travesty for a Canadian poet not to write about the autumn.
November 7th, 2007 at 4:53 pmThank you, all. Yes, Ann, it would be a travesty! Perhaps some of you have heard of Cdn. poet Bliss Carman? He and Sir Charles G.D. Roberts were cousins.
The tree in the photo is almost identical to one in my neighbour’s back yard, and I see it everyday from my kitchen window and back door area. It, plus the burning bushes in my own back yard, have me in an ongoing state of heart-beauty-nature-ache all autumn.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:28 pmOhh, good!! I remember how very much you love Autumn. Hmm.. you have burning bushes? Do rams ever get caught by the horns near them?
You know, I think I died and went to heaven, or very close. You’ve sent me to Bliss Carman, a very funny as well as very achy poet, and I am going to be busy for days. He made me laugh aloud.. oh, so many poems about the sea, but I had to peek at “Songs from Vagabondia, The Joys of the Road” first. Maybe the sea is in my blood from my N.B. side. Anyone near the ocean is so lucky. Our son-in-law had never seen the ocean until two Februaries ago — he grew up in Ohio. He fell in love, can hardly wait to come again..this time, in much nicer weather!
You must’ve loved Bliss Carman’s poetry yourself, yes?
November 7th, 2007 at 11:27 pmNo rams, but I saw a skunk recently, which sent me back into the kitchen faster than I’ve moved in a long while…
I do like Bliss Carman, but of the poets in Canada who were writing during that era, and in that particular style, my favourite is really Archibald Lampman. I have a few volumes of his poetry. Thanks for the link!
November 8th, 2007 at 1:29 am