.

Autumn Summons

The wind carries the leaves,
And leaves the colors bear;
The field prepares the sheaves
That hold the sun ensnared.

The leaves the colors bear;
The colors hold the song
That cooler grows the air,
As autumn comes along.

The colors hold the song
That quickens in the heart,
Which makes perception strong,
And bends the soul toward art.

For this I thank the wind,
The wind that bears the leaves,
The leaves that colors bear,
The colors dyed with song,
The song that through me weaves,
So full of autumn air.

.

.

Talbot Hook is a PhD student and occasional writer currently living in Connecticut.

NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets.

The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


Trending now:

28 Responses

  2. Julian D. Woodruff

    Good, Mr. Hook, and with a well devised form that reflects the days of the seasons rolling forward. Here, near Lake Ontario, bright yellow is readily visible, though still mainly predictive of fiery red nearby. “Cooler grows the air,” yes, but as yet only tentatively. We’re waiting for the chill to take serious hold.
    Thanks for a fine welcome to fall.

    Reply
    • Talbot

      Julian, I hope the season treats you well. The weather here in CT has been mostly seasonal, but it only gets colder from here on out. Thanks for the kind words.

      Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Your poem evokes pleasant fall memories with the colors, the sheaves, and the feelings felt personally.

    Reply
    • Talbot

      Thanks, Roy. It’s a beautiful season, and I wanted to do justice to the experience of it.

      Reply
  4. Cynthia Erlandson

    What an intriguing and beautiful form you’ve devised to describe and honor the advent of autumn ( my favorite season!)

    Reply
    • Talbot

      Thanks, Cynthia! I was inspired by a poem by Geoffrey Bache Smith (one of Tolkien’s mates) who wrote a rolling and liquid poem called “Schumann: Erstes Verlust.” The forms are quite different, but I wanted to achieve a similar effect, even though the tone of his poem is quite melancholic.

      Reply
  5. Allegra Silberstein

    I love autumn colors and what you have done with your delightfully altered form. Keep writing.

    Reply
    • Talbot

      Thanks, Allegra! Although the PhD process has certainly cut down “poetry time,” I still carve out precious pockets in my schedule . . .

      Reply
  6. Yael

    Very nice, thank you. The stunningly beautiful picture really enhances the poem, which I appreciate for the way it weaves a word picture like a basket, to contain the message of sound and sight.

    Reply
    • Talbot

      I appreciate the image of a basket, Yael, and think that an apt metaphor. Thanks for your kind words.

      Reply
  7. jd

    A lovely autumn poem and picture. I love the play on words. The soul did well.

    Reply
    • Talbot

      Thanks for the praise, JD. I agree that the picture is a lovely addition by the editors!

      Reply
  8. Monika Cooper

    Beautifully woven. Slightly bewildering, like the season it sings about.

    Reply
    • Talbot

      Thanks, Monika. This poem was an experiment in interweaving, so I’m glad that was captured!

      Reply
  9. Joshua C. Frank

    I like this! It’s almost like a pantoum, but you’ve added a few lines to make it something else. I can absolutely picture the scene!

    I do miss autumn here in Texas, where the only two seasons are summer and February…

    Reply
    • Talbot

      Thanks, Joshua. I’m definitely a four-season man, myself (though I could do with a shorter winter).

      Reply
  10. Margaret Coats

    Such a pleasant aeolian structure, Talbot, that must have taken you some careful work to perfect. The rhyme scheme abab bcbc cdcd xabcac starts with the stanza-linking popular in Scottish poetry and in the Spenserian sonnet, applied to airy trimeter lines. I like the non-rhyming line used to make an important point: that’s line 13, where the speaker enters and thanks the wind for inspiration. It introduces your “summary” stanza of all involved in this “summons” to art. There’s a thrilling trill of word variation in each repetition. The poem thus becomes an attractive combination of expected and unexpected in your own way of taking the “tiresome” out of this well-worn topic. Well done!

    Reply
    • Talbot

      Margaret, as always I appreciate your insights here (which always far exceed my own); I was indeed rather worried that this poem might be received as trite and rather unimaginative (due to the well-worn topic), but I’m glad that you found it at least slightly refreshing! Thanks again.

      Reply
    • Talbot

      Hi, Zenobia. Can you explain a bit what you mean by “elements”? Then I can try a response! Thanks.

      Reply
      • Zenobia

        examples with figurative parts include metaphor, simile, personification, apostrophe, senecdochie, metonyme, etc.
        and my question is what kind of figurative language does your poetry belong to?

    • Talbot

      Hi, Zenobia. Thanks for the clarification. There’s not a ton of figurative language in this poem, so I can’t answer what it “belongs to”. However, there are a few things, perhaps, which I can point out.

      The wind carries the leaves,
      And leaves the colors bear;
      The field prepares the sheaves [Personification; fields don’t “prepare” things]
      That hold the sun ensnared. [This is perhaps “true” on a “biological” level, but it mostly poetic.]

      The leaves the colors bear;
      The colors hold the song [Colors don’t hold music, so this is evocative.]
      That cooler grows the air,
      As autumn comes along.

      The colors hold the song
      That quickens in the heart, [Here’s an inward turn from nature to soul.]
      Which makes perception strong, [Likewise, this is an internal change.]
      And bends the soul toward art.

      For this I thank the wind,
      The wind that bears the leaves,
      The leaves that colors bear,
      The colors dyed with song,
      The song that through me weaves,
      So full of autumn air.

      I hope any of that is helpful. As I said, there’s no major allusion to this poem; it’s a rather reflective piece with straightforward elements. I’d happily answer any other questions you have. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Zenobia

        Thank you in advance, but I want to ask one more time whether this poem is denotative or connotative?

    • Talbot

      Dear Zenobia, as with most things, it’s both. There are literal meanings to all these words, but many are laden with shades of meaning. Also, I have no social media.

      Reply
      • Zenobia

        Okay hook no problem, I have assignment in my collage to analyze poem, I choose your poem. I want to show you your poetry analysis, but I’m confused about how to show it to you.
        Thank you for helping me ^^

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.