Dead Leaves
Dead leaves in the bird’s nest,
And after that the snow;
That was where the bird’s breast
Tenderly did go,
Where the tiny birds pressed
Lovingly — and lo!
Dead leaves in the bird’s nest
Under falling snow.
Dead leaves in the heart’s nest,
And after that the snow;
That was where the heart’s guest
Brooded months ago,
Where the tender thoughts pressed
Lovingly — and lo!
Dead leaves in the heart’s nest
Under falling snow.
~~
Ethelwyn Wetherald (1857-1940)
from The Last Robin: Lyrics and sonnets, 1907
[Poem is in the public domain in Canada, the United States, and the European Union]
Ethelwyn Wetherald biography
A lovely poem. The author's life almost matches Margaret Deland's (1857-1945)
ReplyDeleteWetherald is, like Deland, another forgotten poet who well deserves to be rediscovered. As a Canadian, she was never that well known in the U.S., but she's been all but forgotten in her own country, too. She wrote late-romantic verse at the time o the (male) Confederation poets, which sold well; but, perhaps because she was a woman, was never taken as seriously as were those.
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