Have mellowed into autumn, and the flowers
Sleep in their fragrant places, ’tis to me
A pleasanter and purer time to give
Close thought to its forgetfulness, and stray
By the serenest wave and greenest grass.
October had come in and I went forth
To breathe an air like June, and feel the nerve
Of the elastic temper which a frost
Gives to the sunshine. The transparent veil
Of morning’s exhalations had rolled up