begin the hours of
this day slow and make the day
seem to us less brief
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes’ sake along the wall.
October by Robert Frost, The Poetry of Robert Frost: The Collected Poems, Complete and Unabridged, edited by Edward Connery Lathem (New York: Holt, 1969)
I came across the poem and saved it for use in October, but I woke up this morning, and it was November and I didn’t want to wait a year to use it.
No Haiku For You 