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    yellow fern in the sunlight

    And Is It Not Enough?

    By Malcolm Guite

    September 18, 2024
    1 Comments
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    • David Holdsworth

      What a beautiful poem. I love autumn.

    And is it not enough that every year
    A richly laden autumn should unfold
    And shimmer into being leaf by leaf,
    Its scattered ochres mirrored everywhere
    In hints and glints of hidden red and gold
    Threaded like memory through loss and grief,

    When dusk descends, when branches are unveiled,
    When roots reach deeper than our minds can feel
    And ready us for winter with strange calm,
    That I should see the inner tree revealed
    And know its beauty as the bright leaves fall
    And feel its truth within me as I am?

    And is it not enough that I should walk
    Through low November mist along the bank,
    When scents of woodsmoke summon, in some long
    And melancholy undertone, the talk
    Of those old poets from whose works I drank
    The heady wine of an autumnal song?

    It is not yet enough. So I must try,
    In my poor turn, to help you see it too,
    As though these leaves could be as rich as those,
    That red and gold might glimmer in your eye,
    That autumn might unfold again in you,
    Feeling with me what falling leaves disclose.

    yellow fern in the sunlight

    Photograph by Anita Nicholson / Alamy. Used by permission.

    Contributed By MalcolmGuite Malcolm Guite

    Malcolm Guite is a poet, priest, and lead singer and guitarist for the blues-rock band Mystery Train.

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    1 Comments
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