Poetry Please #1: Fall, Leaves, Fall

Emily Brontë

Photo by Lukasz Szmigiel on Unsplash

This, really, is a footnote to our Sunday post, which if you didn’t see was a little list of reasons to embrace the darker evenings and shorter days.

One thing Gabby and I have decided to commit to is to read more poetry, especially aloud. A few studies show the benefits this can have for our mood and relaxation. Plus, it’s just a nice way to spend an evening rather than looking at yet another screen (although I do love a good BBC drama…)

So, here’s the plan! We’re going to take turns to discover a poem a week - share it with one another and of course, you. They won’t focus on any particular theme, just something we’ve read and enjoyed over the last few days. It’s also not going to become an English literature essay analysing every stanza. Instead, poetry for the joy of poetry.

To start things off, a few words that simply luxuriate in Autumn. Exactly what’s needed as we hit the zenith of October.

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.

I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.
- Fall, leaves, fall - Emily Brontë

Enjoy x

Jack