C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
In Autumn
By Celia Laighton Thaxter (1835–1894)
T
And quenched the golden-rod’s brief fire;
The maple’s last red leaf is shed,
And dumb the birds’ sweet choir.
The narrowing days speed, one by one!
How pale the waning sunbeams sift
Through clouds of gray and dun!
On warmth and loveliness and youth,
And shudder at the dark and cold,
Our souls cry out for Truth.
To mock our sight with shows so fair!
We question of the solemn hours
That lead us swiftly—“Where?”
We lift our close-clasped hands above,
And pray God’s pity on our pain,
And trust the Eternal Love.