Transitioning to Autumn

Today it is cool! Cool for the first time in ages. So I started thinking about autumn and all the things I love about it--and then I remembered its brevity, and was reminded of this poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

THE DEATH OF AUTUMN

"WHEN reeds are dead and a straw to thatch the marshes,
And feathered pampas-grass rides into the wind
Like agèd warriors westward, tragic, thinned
Of half their tribe, and over the flattened rushes,
Stripped of its secret, open, stark and bleak,
Blackens afar the half-forgotten creek,–
Then leans on me the weight of the year, and crushes
My heart. I know that Beauty must ail and die,
And will be born again,–but ah, to see
Beauty stiffened, staring up at the sky!
Oh, Autumn ! Autumn !–What is the Spring to me?"

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Beautiful and Splendid Things

"Life has loveliness to sell, all beautiful and splendid things, blue waves whitened on a cliff, soaring fire that sways and sings, and children's faces looking up, holding wonder like a cup." -

That lovely sentiment is from the poet Sara Teasdale, who was born on this date in 1884. Teasdale also penned one of my favorite lines that has become a mantra:

Look for a lovely thing and you will find it,
It is not far -
It never will be far.
(from NIGHT, Stars Tonight 1930

And while I contemplate the lovely words of a rather tragic poet, I must prepare for a book chat that I'm doing at the Jefferson Park Library today in Chicago, where we'll be discussing THE DARK BACKWARD.

Have a great day!