Dead Leaves / E. Nesbit

Dead Leaves

Not Summer's crown of scent the red rose weaves,
    Not hawthorn perfume blown o'er bloom-strewn grass,
    Not violets' whispers as the children pass,
Nor new-mown hay, crisp scent of yellow sheaves,
Nor lilac perfume in the soft May eves,
    Nor any scent that Springtime can amass,
    Or Summer squander, such a magic has
As scent of fresh wet earth and fallen leaves.

For sometimes lovers, in November days,
    When earth is grieving for the vanished sun,
Have trod dead leaves in chill and wintry ways,
    And kissed and dreamed eternal summer won.
Look back, look back! through memory's deepening haze,
    See — two who dreamed that dream, and you were one!

~~

E. Nesbit (1858-1924)

from Leaves of Life, 1888

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

E. Nesbit biography

Marco Verch, Romantic Girl in Autumn Landscape, 2020. CC BY 2.0, Flickr.