November 13, 2010

A Poem for the Day: "The Falling of the Leaves" by William Butler Yeats

Even here in southern California, fall has finally come.  The leaves are falling, the mornings are crisp, the days are short, the nights are long, and I am reminded of these two melancholy stanzas by the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats--

The Falling of the Leaves

Autumn is over the long leaves that love us,
And over the mice in the barley sheaves;
Yellow the leaves of the rowan above us,
And yellow the wet wild strawberry leaves.

The hour of the waning of love has beset us,
And weary and worn are our sad souls now;
Let us part, ere the season of passion forget us,
With a kiss and a tear upon thy drooping brow.

(1889)

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[The photograph of the fall colors is courtesy of Matt Princing, and just seemed to fit Yeats' poetry perfectly.]

8 comments:

  1. Ain't it so? That is William Butler Yeats. As I have become an older man, these words take on even more meaning.

    Thanks for the visit, Barbara. Cheers! Chris

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  2. As I sit here bundled up with my coffee in hand you're making me want to reach for my old battered copy of Yeats. Thanks for sharing--along with the picture.

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  3. This is a beautiful poem. I've always thought of Yeats' poetry as difficult. This one is great for the season. I love the "wet wild strawberry leaves." Never heard of a rowan tree. Wonder what it looks like in fall leaves.

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  4. Thank you for this poem!!!

    I linked this at Kate's Library as part of the Friday Five!

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  5. Ciao! Thank you for sharing this lovely poem with us =)

    Just wanted to let you know that I've given you a blogger award! You may pick it up over here. Congratulations! =)

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  6. Chris - as you become "an older man"!? You have a ways to go. (I have to say that because we are about the same age and I KNOW I have a ways to go!) :-)

    Great poem - sorry I'm so late checking in. It's been a tough few weeks for me and I'm just now catching up.

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  7. This is a lovely poem. Thank you for sharing - I really enjoy your blog. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I would like to extend to you the Versatile Book Blogger award. Thank you for writing such an enjoyable blog!

    http://thestorygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/11/lucky-me.html

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