Let’s stay in that warm autumn vibe, shall we? After Maggie Smith last week, it’s Mary Oliver’s turn to bring some poetry to this season. In this poem, the American writer and Pulitzer Prize winner gives personhood to every part of nature. From trees over birds to leaves. Making you realise that this is a season of change for everything and everyone.
In the deep fall
don’t you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
warm caves, begin to think
of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
vanishes, and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
bellows. And at evening especially,
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.
Mary Oliver
Alix in Wonderland 