Chiefly in Autumn

Fall, 1935, Vol. 9, No. 4

Chiefly in autumn must the heart remember
Dreams unachieved and faces long since lost
In depths of stillness. The initial frost,
The earlier dusk, the glory of September,
The lengthening nights that tell the sun has crossed
The equinox,—like breath upon an ember,
These bring awareness: sorrow that will cost
The heart no minor pang in its November.

Yet in the season when the day is brief
And memory is longer than the night,
Look not too long upon the fallen leaf,
Nor make a symbol of its ended flight.
Let not the heart be conquered by its grief:
Be mindful yet of the returning light.