December
By Christopher Pearce Cranch
No more the scarlet maples flash and burn
Their beacon-fires from hilltop and from plain;
The meadow-grasses and the woodland fern
In the bleak woods lie withered once again.
The trees stand bare, and bare each stony scar
Upon the cliffs; half frozen glide the rills;
The steel-blue river like a scimitar
Lies cold and curved between the dusky hills.
Over the upland farm I take my walk,
And miss the flaunting flocks of golden-rod;
Each autumn flower a dry and leafless stalk,
Each mossy field a track of frozen sod.
I hear no more the robin's summer song
Through the gray network of the wintry woods;
Only the cawing crows that all day long
Clamor about the windy solitudes.
Like agate stones upon earth's frozen breast,
The little pools of ice lie round and still;
While sullen clouds shut downward east and west
In marble ridges stretched from hill to hill.
Come once again, O southern wind,—once more
Come with thy wet wings flapping at my pane;
Ere snow-drifts pile their mounds about my door,
One parting dream of summer bring again.
Ah, no! I hear the windows rattle fast;
I see the first flakes of the gathering snow,
That dance and whirl before the northern blast.
No countermand the march of days can know.
December drops no weak, relenting tear,
By our fond summer sympathies ensnared;
Nor from the perfect circle of the year
Can even winter's crystal gems be spared.
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We had pouring rain all morning and most of the afternoon, which made it easy to do nothing but work and chores, at least once I turned on my light therapy lamp so I could wake up properly. World Market finally sent an email telling me that my order was ready, so we went to pick it up from one of their curbside spots, but after waiting 15 minutes, the delivery guy brought out someone else's order and we had to wait for them to find the right one. Ah well, at least I have my tea, though they were out of Paul's chocolate covered blueberries.
It stopped raining just before it got dark, so we took a walk -- the deer and bunnies were both out, but it was too dark to take pictures of them -- then we had Scotch broth for St. Andrew's Day and watched The Disney Holiday Singalong, which was mostly mediocre but had P!nk singing with her daughter and Chloe x Halle doing "Let It Go" together, then we watched the Seattle-Philly game which had some terrible decisions but at least the Seahawks won (the Ravens and their coronavirus should be barred from playing this week). Seneca Creek's holiday lights being set up:
