Friday, November 13, 2009

Autumn Fires


In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The gray smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
"A Child's Garden of Verses" published 1885

Today is his birthday. No burning of leaves here on the cul-de-sac although their number could certainly create a smoke trail. Still it is nice to sing a song of seasons and remember the much-loved poetry of childhood.

2 comments:

minipurl said...

That was one of my favorite books as a child...took it everywhere. Happy Birthday RLS.

Mary said...

That poem brought back the sight and smells of childhood leaf burnings. Thank you!