Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

09 Nov 2015
5 Comments

POM: NOVEMBER


Ah, tis November. As much as I like that this month gets me a wee bit closer to the end of the year, which gets me that much closer to the end of first semester, which ushers in second semester, which provides a not-as-distant glimpse of June and summer release, I do like October and I am reluctant to let it totally fade away.

I like its blend of summery days of warmth and crisp evening. I appreciate the last hurrah of garden color mixed with swirling leaves. And I favor the bounteous moons that hover like bloated Chinese lanterns on the night’s horizon.

So, here is an October poem for November. How could I resist “spicy woods”? Yet, Amy Lowell does set the tone well for the Thanksgiving month with her “Hoar-Frost” offering:

In the cloud-grey mornings

I heard the herons flying;

And when I came into my garden,

My silken outer-garment

Trailed over withered leaves.

A dried leaf crumbles at a touch,

But I have seen many Autumns

With herons blowing like smoke

Across the sky.


October

Helen Hunt Jackson
Bending above the spicy woods which blaze,
Arch skies so blue they flash, and hold the sun
Immeasurably far; the waters run
Too slow, so freighted are the river-ways
With gold of elms and birches from the maze
Of forests. Chestnuts, clicking one by one,
Escape from satin burs; her fringes done,
The gentian spreads them out in sunny days,
And, like late revelers at dawn, the chance
Of one sweet, mad, last hour, all things assail,
And conquering, flush and spin; while, to enhance
The spell, by sunset door, wrapped in a veil
Of red and purple mists, the summer, pale,
Steals back alone for one more song and dance.
Posted in Americans, creativity, poems and tagged , ,

Single Post Navigation

5 thoughts on “POM: NOVEMBER”

  1. Vanessa-Jane Chapman on said:

    Such lovely poems! Both of them, very visual. I laughed at your first part, wishing the year away!

    Reply ↓
  2. Carrie Rubin on said:

    Lovely poem to usher in November. We’re having such a wonderful extended fall that it still feels like October in my neck of the woods. But I suspect that will soon change, and before we know it, the winter coats will be out. Sigh.

    Reply ↓
  3. valerierlawson on said:

    gorgeous.

    i’m very ready for autumn to appear. still wearing shorts in my neighborhood – just not right!

    Reply ↓

Comments, anyone?

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: