Monday 18 September 2017

A Day in Autumn

Oleg Kozak

A Day in Autumn

It will not always be like this, 
The air windless, a few last 
Leaves adding their decoration 
To the trees’ shoulders, braiding the cuffs 
Of the boughs with gold; a bird preening
In the lawn’s mirror. Having looked up 
From the day’s chores, pause a minute, 
Let the mind take its photograph 
Of the bright scene, something to wear 
Against the heart in the long cold.

R.S. Thomas

"It will not always be like this..." now there's a line that can either depress or encourage. I think I've used it a lot in the encouraging sense in the past few years, but this summer - this summer was golden, and I knew that line in its "seize the day" sense, in that "wish I could hold this moment forever". So this poem is exactly what I want. Yes, store the moments away, layer on layer, leaf on golden leaf, for heart-warmth in the long cold. The long cold. What a beautiful way to say it. 

 

1 comment:

  1. When the meaning runs deeper than the words suggest, even in encouragement there is an ache....a beautiful stretching ache.

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