One of Emily Dickinson's many gifts was her ability to evoke the seasons in her poetry. She can make you feel spring in the dead of winter, and decorate the world in fall colors, as she does here.
#12
The morns are meeker than they were -
The nuts are getting brown -
The berry's cheek is plumper -
The Rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf -
The field a scarlet gown -
Lest I should be old fashioned
I'll put a trinket on.
c. 1858
It's a simple poem, but doesn't it just capture the feeling at this time of year? Her nature poems are some of my favorites. I think I'll go dress in fall . . .
I like her delicacy in describing nature and in evoking feelings of sweetness and beauty, never forgetting a certain amusement and a vein of irony. A wonderful poetress, not only for her time.
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