This Spare Autumn Day

Having witnessed the Beauty of Autumn,

 I Bargained with the Powers That Be

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I ask no more than this spare autumn day –

But let this day endure all days to come!

For in the whisk of winter’s trifling eye,

I see again the gleam that signifies

The coming of a wind

And best of all your blessings -

That pungent unction in the wasting leaves,

Bleeding from the knotty arms of trees,

And spreading like a painted cloak

About a spent and naked form!

Oh, show me, show me now

Your fresh unfinished work,[1]

That I may know the life I forfeit

Is not lost in vain,

But brings about a good

All eyes can see

Oh, give to me this autumn day,

And let my heart be yours again!