November's Cadence
The bees about the Linden-tree,
When blithely summer blooms were springing,
Would hum a heartsome melody,
The simple baby-soul of singing;
And thus my spirit sang to me
When youth its wanton way was winging:
“Be glad, be sad — thou hast the choice —
But mingle music with thy voice.”
The linnets on the Linden-tree,
Among the leaves in autumn dying,
Are making gentle melody,
A mild, mysterious, mournful sighing;
And thus my spirit sings to me
While years are flying, flying, flying:
“Be sad, be sad, thou hast no choice,
But mourn with music in thy voice.”
~~
James Carnegie, Earl of Southesk (1827-1905)
from The Burial of Isis, and other poems, 1884
[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]
James Carnegie, Earl of Southesk biography
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