The Overland Monthly/1894/Autumn on the Columbia

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
2935182The Overland Monthly, 1894 edition — Autumn on the ColumbiaSamuel Asahel Clarke

AUTUMN ON THE COLUMBIA.

Autumn is round us everywhere;
  The climbing roses wear a look
That says they wither with a fear
  That summer has the world forsook;
The ether floats the thistle-down;
  The hills are gemmed with golden-rod;
The laurel's ever-gleaming crown
  From tall, red pillar looks abroad;
The birds, belate, their voices tune
  To notes we never heard in June.

The herds upon a thousand hills,
  The flocks that seek the evening fold,
The music of the lessened rills,
  The waning sunset's red and gold,
FOOTBRIDGE AT THE LATOURELLE FALL.
FOOTBRIDGE AT THE LATOURELLE FALL.
Photo by Watkins.
FOOTBRIDGE AT THE LATOURELLE FALL.


The leaf that flutters to the sod,
  The flower that fades upon its stem,
The mountain ash and golden-rod,
  The forest's frost-touched diadem,
Reflect the fullness of the past,
  As freighted barks reach home at last.

The latest shocks are still afield;
  The rains have robed the pastures new;
The crescent moon's inverted shield
  Is sinking 'neath the western blue;
The stars come glinting, one by one,
  From out the overbending arch,
And myriad eyes, when day is done,
  Review the constellations' march;
All Nature's humblest things delight
  In restful wonders of the night.

The noisome creatures, where are they?
  Distorted things, chimeras dire,
That know of neither night nor day
  And care not for celestial fire!
They, as the angels, are not seen,
  Though oft-times felt to mortal sight,
For shapes of dread, or heavenly mien,
  Seek deepest shade or purest light;
We only know that night-time brings
  The rustling of the angels' wings.