Autumn Trees by Laurita

A New England October can have days that seem like winter. In this poem, frost wants to put off those wintry days and keep the golden fullness of autumn. He speaks directly to October, in a kind of prayer.  

October
by Robert Frost

 O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall
To-morrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call
To-morrow 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.

In late autumn, you can sometimes walk through a field and see things that remind you of summer. Here, Frost finds one last flower, and brings it back as a reminder.

A Late Walk
by Robert Frost

  When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path. 

   And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.   

I end not far from my going forth
By picking the faded blue
Of the last remaining aster flower
To carry again to you.

Road at Chantillly by Paul Cezanne

Robert Frost on his own poetry:“One stanza of ‘The Road Not Taken’ was written while I was sitting on a sofa in the middle of England: Was found three or four years later, and I couldn’t bear not to finish it. I wasn’t thinking about myself there, but about a friend who had gone off to war, a person who, whichever road he went, would be sorry he didn’t go the other. He was hard on himself that way.”

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, California on March 26, 1874. His mother, Isabelle Moodie Frost, was of Scottish descent; his father, William Prescott Frost, Jr., was a descendant of colonist Nicholas Frost from Tiverton, Devon, England who had sailed to New Hampshire in 1634 on the Wolfrana.

Frost’s father was a good teacher, and later an editor of the San Francisco Evening Bulletin (which was eventually merged into the San Francisco Examiner), and an unsuccessful candidate for the city tax collector. The road not taken for young Robert might have been as a Californian editor rather than a New England poet, but William Frost Jr. died May 5, 1885, debts were settled, and the family moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts where William Frost, Sr., was an overseer at a New England mill. Frost graduated from Lawrence High School in 1892. 

Despite his later association with rural life, Frost lived in the city, and published his first poem in the Lawrence high school magazine. He attended Dartmouth College, long enough to be accepted into the Theta Delat Chi fraternity. Frost returned home to teach and to work at various jobs including delivering newspapers and factory labor. He did not enjoy these jobs at all, feeling his true calling as a poet.

Robert Frost’s biography was brought to you by Wikipedia.

 Link back to the Poetry Wednesday tour on Laurita’s page

deletereply starfishred wrote on Oct 27, ’08 I love all of them but i truely love The Road Not Taken the best thanks for the tour and you being such a wonderful host.

deletereply billatplay wrote on Oct 27, ’08 Difficult to pick a winner or really a single line. Just reading one line twice brings a new infliction. Sorry, it would take a week to absorb and many weeks to offer a plethora of comments. Thank you for the feast.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Oct 27, ’08 I love them all, but “The Road Not Taken” is more philosophilical.

deletereply bostonsdandd wrote on Oct 28, ’08 I love Robert Frost. I think he saw more than anyone of his time. His soul shines through in everything he does. And these are the reasons I love Fall :o). http://bostonsdandd.multiply.com/journal/item/219/Poetry_WednesdayOctober_29thThe_Conception_of_a_WomanBy_Me

deletereply sanssouciblogs wrote on Oct 28, ’08 I love your gorgeous fall photo and all the beauty of words and thoughts on this page. This page is perfection, sis!!

deletereply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Oct 29, ’08 What a treat it is to read Frost’s works! He has such a natural ability to describe the seasons and our interactions with nature. He also had such inner strength about follwoing our own bliss in this world. Thanks you for this fall treat!

deletereply sylvie1 wrote on Oct 29, ’08 Robert Frost is one of my most favorite  poets. I started to post something by him and was to lazy to get it all together. Thanks so much for the great poetry.

deletereply sugarpiehuny wrote on Oct 29, ’08 I love Robert Frost.. The photo is lovely too.. http://sugarpiehuny.multiply.com/recipes/item/7/All_Hallows_Eve…_Soulfood_Appetizers_Snacks

deletereply zafreud wrote on Oct 29, ’08 “Enchant the land with amethyst.” “By picking the faded blue Of the last remaining aster flower   To carry again to you.” Exquisite lines! Thank you for the generous Frost potion, Laurita! 🙂

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Oct 29, ’08 Those are my favorite lines, too ! Thanks for visiting, Zafreud !

deletereply fluffyj wrote on Oct 29, ’08 A great selection, especially the first with winter like temps sneaking in our October.  They had snow in CT last night, thankfully it was over in the upper corner in Litchfield County.  The last made me think of the election… don’t ask me why.  Must be the Palin nightmares I’ve been having.  -janeen

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Oct 30, ’08 Thanks for visiting, Janeen ! Wow, you guys had a little snow last night, huh ?

deletereply forgetmenot525 wrote on Oct 30, ’08 beautiful collection Laurita, and I love the paintings. I think we missed autumn this year, the leaves have fallen in the hight winds and the temp is below freezing overnight http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/journal/item/192/Tam_O_Shanter_poetry_by_Rabbie_Burns

deletereply dianahopeless wrote on Oct 31, ’08 Frost’s poetry is one of the many reasons I love this time of year. You really know how to present your selections Laurita!

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Oct 31, ’08 Thank you for visiting, Diana. I love yours, too !

deletereply pestep55 wrote on Nov 2, ’08, edited on Nov 2, ’08 Very nice, I do love all three, if I had to chose it’d likely be  ‘The Road NotTaken’ . Loved the tour as well — fabulous post /:-)

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Nov 2, ’08 The Road Not Taken is probably one of his most beloved poems.

deletereply rosiefielding2 wrote on Feb 1, ’09 best one , the road not taken, wonderful poetry .