Poem: “Autumn in the Garden” by Henry Van Dyke

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American Literature – Children Books – American Poetry – Henry Van Dyke – Poems by Henry Van Dyke
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Autumn in the Garden

When the frosty kiss of Autumn in the dark Makes its markOn the flowers, and the misty morning grieves Over fallen leaves;Then my olden garden, where the golden soil Through the toilOf a hundred years is mellow, rich, and deep, Whispers in its sleep.

‘Mid the crumpled beds of marigold and phlox, Where the boxBorders with its glossy green the ancient walks, There’s a voice that talksOf the human hopes that bloomed and withered here Year by year,—And the dreams that brightened all the labouring hours. Fading as the flowers.

Yet the whispered story does not deepen grief; But reliefFor the loneliness of sorrow seems to flow From the Long-Ago,When I think of other lives that learned, like mine, To resign,And remember that the sadness of the fall Comes alike to all.

What regrets, what longings for the lost were theirs I And what prayersFor the silent strength that nerves us to endure Things we cannot cure!Pacing up and down the garden where they paced, I have tracedAll their well-worn paths of patience, till I find Comfort in my mind.

Faint and far away their ancient griefs appear: Yet how nearIs the tender voice, the careworn, kindly face, Of the human race!Let us walk together in the garden, dearest heart,— Not apart!They who know the sorrows other lives have known Never walk alone.

October, 1903.

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American Literature – Children Books – American Poetry – Henry Van Dyke – Poems by Henry Van Dyke

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Autumn in the Garden

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