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It's September


It's September, and the orchards are afire with red and gold,
And the nights with dew are heavy, and the morning's sharp with cold;
Now the garden's at its gayest with the salvia blazing red
And the good old-fashioned asters laughing at us from their bed;
Once again in shoes and stockings are the children's little feet,
And the dog now does his snoozing on the bright side of the street.

It's September, and the cornstalks are as high as they will go,
And the red cheeks of the apples everywhere begin to show;
Now the supper's scarcely over ere the darkness settles down
And the moon looms big and yellow at the edges of the town;
Oh, it's good to see the children, when their little prayers are said,
Duck beneath the patchwork covers when they tumble into bed.

It's September, and a calmness and a sweetness seem to fall
Over everything that's living, just as though it hears the call
Of Old Winter, trudging slowly, with his pack of ice and snow,
In the distance over yonder, and it somehow seems as though
Every tiny little blossom wants to look its very best
When the frost shall bite its petals and it droops away to rest.

It's September! It's the fullness and the ripeness of the year;
All the work of earth is finished, or the final tasks are near,
But there is no doleful wailing; every living thing that grows,
For the end that is approaching wears the finest garb it knows.
And I pray that I may proudly hold my head up high and smile
When I come to my September in the golden afterwhile.

Notes

Notes on Painting:'September Flowers' Artist Amanda Hoskin is from Cornwall on the coast of South West England

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Comments


  • February 7
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    Reading Comprehension

    From guest D Harding (contact)
    What does the line means and I pray that I may hold my head up high When I come to my September in the golden afterwhile


    • I-Like-Rhymes Moderators member
      February 7
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      For guest D Harding

      You ask about the meaning of the lines
      "And I pray that I may proudly hold my head up high and smile
      When I come to my September in the golden afterwhile. "
      My own understanding is that "the golden afterwhile" is death and then heaven. Therefore I believe the poet is saying that when he comes to the final reckoning that he hopes he will be proud of all he has done and will be able to hold his head up high as a consequence.
      Without those last three words "the golden afterwhile" he could simply be saying that when his work is done and he is retired (in his autumn years as it were) he will still be fit and healthy and able to hold his head up just as the trees and flowers do in September; but as written and with Guest's usual messsages I believe my first assumption is probably the best one.

  • ChattyCathy
    September 9, 2008
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    Brilliant

    This is a sonnet!

  • rbruce
    September 9, 2008

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    The seasons are opposite here in Aussie but the sentiments expressed in this wonderful poem still apply to the autumn season. I love the last couple of lines referring to the 'September' of our lives.


  • Von Powell Moderators member
    September 9, 2008
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    Delightful poem!
    My September is the absolute opposite living so near to the Equator but I can easily visualise Guest’s September. The dog moving to the warmer side of the street struck a chord with me for some reason.
    I also like the comparison in the final lines to the frailty of humans perhaps not faring so well in the September of our time.