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Raking Leaves

The blaze of autumn’s orange-gold is gone,
And now it’s time to rake the fallen leaves,
__To clear the cluttered eaves,
__And face a colder dawn.

Those piles and piles of crispy, mottled leaves
Become as chaff between my sieve-like hands
__And whirl in changing winds.
__I gather up the sheaves

Of days—of what has been and now is gone,
While trying not to dwell on leaves and leavings,
__Or dark and darker evenings,
__But face the colder dawn.

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Cheryl Corey is a poet who lives in Connecticut. “Three Sisters,” her trio of poems about the sisters of Fate which were first published by the Society of Classical Poets, are featured in “Gods and Monsters,” an anthology of mythological poems (MacMillan Children’s Books, 2023).

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22 Responses

  1. Jeremiah Johnson

    I like the progression from mere sensory observation to deeper meanings placed on the same observations. Also, to “clear the cluttered eaves” has a nice sound to it – and, in general, the tightness of the rhyme scheme has a pleasant repetitiveness. Thanks for this autumnal reflection!

    Reply
  2. Joseph S. Salemi

    This is a perfect autumnal gem. In the third quatrain, the wordplay of “leaves” and “leavings” is a nice touch. Also, when the speaker talks of raking up leaves as gathering up sheaves (the bundles of wheat after a harvest), I hear an allusion to the famous passage in the Iliad when a warrior asks “Why ask my lineage? The generations of men are as the generations of leaves — each falls, to be replaced by another.”

    Autumnal poems tend to be somber, meditative, and melancholy, because they inevitable remind us of mortality (“the colder dawn”).

    Reply
    • Cheryl A Corey

      Thank you for your kind words and comments, especially the reference to the Iliad, with which I was not familiar.

      Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Cheryl, this is an enchanting autumnal poem of dealing with the falling leaves and then resolving into the deeper meaning of comparing our late life situation while attempting to turn aside from our fearful inner thoughts about the “darkness” and “colder dawn”: facing us. Well rhymed and meaningful.

    Reply
    • Cheryl Corey

      Perhaps it’s all part of being a New Englander, Roy, but for me the season always lends itself to a lot of introspection.

      Reply
  6. Warren Bonham

    I’ve never seen that structure before with the transition from pentameter to trimeter in each stanza. It helped with the mood change from autumn to winter (which I’m not looking forward to). Great poem!

    Reply
    • Cheryl A Corey

      I came across a poem by William Collins (1721-1759) called “Ode To Evening” consisting of two long lines followed by two short, as below, which I believe is called an “Alcaic stanza”, and wanted to try something in a similar vein.

      If aught of oaten stop, or pastoral song,
      May hope, chaste Eve, to soothe thy modest ear,
      Like thy own solemn springs,
      Thy springs and dying gales,

      Reply
  7. Maria

    Dear Cheryl, just when I was debating with myself whether to go out and fight another losing battle clearing leaves or read poetry instead, I came across your poem. Suddenly the task is no longer an effort but poetic and glorious.

    Reply
    • Cheryl A Corey

      Don’t feel bad, Maria. I’m still tackling red maple leaves, the last to drop.

      Reply
  8. Isabella

    A wonderful autumnal poem! The change of metre in the stanzas works beautifully with the subject. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

    Reply
    • Cheryl A Corey

      Thanks, Isabella. It’s a nice feeling when a poem comes together for you.

      Reply
  9. Margaret Coats

    I recall seeing “performance art” while at college in New York State. It was nothing more than a woman raking leaves–without any useful gathering or removal of them. The artist left that to the college maintenance men.

    You’ve done far better, Cheryl, with this elegant poem that rakes in meaning with every line of choice words. The form and its repetitions are as tight as a medieval French poem with a refrain, yet more packed with contemplative content than most of them. As Joseph Salemi says, an autumnal gem.

    Reply
    • Cheryl A Corey

      Thank you for the compliment. I often recite a poem to myself over and over again until I’m happy with the wording and sound as well.

      Reply
  10. Shamik Banerjee

    Cheryl, you have skilfully delivered a spiritual message using a common post-autumn activity. I also like the metrical structure of this poem. Very lyrical and pleasurable to the senses.

    Reply
  11. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Cheryl, what an exquisite piece. You capture the very essence of autumn and conjure the spirit of the season with your rich tapestry of words – all very pleasing to the ear. This poem benefits from being read aloud. I love it.

    Reply
    • Cheryl A Corey

      Thank you, Susan. Sometimes all it takes is a few words, a line, or a couplet, and then it’s like a kind of possession that seizes me until I see it through!

      Reply

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