On Frost's October

Today is the birth date of two very well known poets, Robert Frost (an icon of American poetry) and Gregory Corso (one of the original- and youngest- founders of the Beat poets). I’ll post on Corso next.

I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but Frost influenced me by his deceptively simple style, his humble employment of imagery and words, and his determination to explore many different poetic forms. It was by Frost that I came to learn of the Rubaiyat stanza (a stanza that has aaba as its rhyme scheme, a rhythm I excitingly used in some of my own works).

My favorite poem by Frost (and I believe it’s my daughter’s favorite as well) is, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. Beautiful, beautiful read (especially out loud). I also like Nature's First Green is Gold- and other elegant poem (and what still astonishes me is the density of detail in so short a poem).

I learned that Frost wrote Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening in the dead of summer. So, as a tribute to him and that favorite poem of mine, I wanted to share another poem of his on this gorgeous spring day, it’s called: October.


October

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.


What a beautiful poem. Personally, the poem reminds me of two things: The mystifying beauty of Indian summer, and our mortality (i.e. the coming of winter). I’d love to hear your take on it.

btw: the picture above is called, October Morning, a work created by the gifted artist, Don Reed (you should click the link and check him out).