John Clare - Autumn

Here is a short poem by John Clare.  Love the old English in some of these poems, although I understand that John Clare resisted standardized English.  

My favorite line:  Is tipt with autumn's pencil now.



Autumn
John Clare

The summer-flower has run to seed,
And yellow is the woodland bough;
And every leaf of bush and weed
Is tipt with autumn’s pencil now.

And I do love the varied hue,
And I do love the browning plain;
And I do love each scene to view,
That’s mark’d with beauties of her reign.

  

John Clare

John Clare was born in 1793 and died in 1864.  He was known as the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet.  He could be considered one of the best poets of the 19th century and is known for his poems about nature and rural life.  He did, however, live a difficult life trying to balance rural life with his longing to be with London society and write poetry.  He suffered many ills as he grew older.  People seemed to appreciate his poetry more in the 20th century and saw the strength in his poems and his early delight in the beauty around him.

John Clare Books