The Passing of Summer / James Berry Bensel

The Passing of Summer

She gathers up her robes of green and gold,
    The fair, sweet Summer, and across the land
    We see her go, with outward-reaching hand
Whose magic spreads its beauties manifold
Along the region by her sway controlled.
    The trees, o'erhung with gorgeous banners, stand
    To see her pass them with a last command,
While all the world is draped in splendor bold.

She passes onward, from the lowlands first,
    Then lays a reverent touch on every hill,
        A smile of promise lighting up her face;
The brooks are fain to quench her fateful thirst,
    And glowing carpets line her roadway still,
    The splendid queen departing from her place.

~~
James Berry Bensel (1856-1886)

from In the King's Garden, and other poems, 1885

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

James Berry Bensel biography

"Tiandra, the Summer Queen", 2015. CC BY-SA 3.0, The Time of Fire.