The Voyagers
The Spring in festival array,
From Death to Life, from Night to Day,
Came floating o’er the main;
And now with banners brave and bright,
From Life to Death, from Day to Night,
The Autumn drifts again.
Mater Dolorosa
Again maternal Autumn grieves,
As blood-like drip the maple leaves
On Nature’s Calvary,
And every sap-forsaken limb
Renews the mystery of Him
Who died upon a Tree.
Life’s Repetend
Do ye forget the blossom-time?
Or tint for tint, as rhyme for rhyme,
Would ye, O leaves, supply;
To prove, as echo to the ear,
That Near is Far, and Far is Near,
In circling home to die?
A Rubric
The aster puts its purple on
When flowers begin to fall,
To suit the solemn antiphon
Of Autumn’s ritual;
And deigns, unwearied, to stand
In robes pontifical,
Till Indian Summer leaves the land,
And Winter spreads the pall.
Autumn-Glow
If this the preface be of death
In crimson, green, and gold,
What wondrous art illumineth
The story still untold?
For a recitation, click the play button:
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/110752449″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]“The Voyagers”: Poems, p. 13; Poetry, p. 86. September 1892. The main is the sea.
“Mater Dolorosa”: Lyrics, p. 96; Poetry, p. 91. April 1896. Mater Dolorosa: Latin, sorrowful mother; traditionally applied to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross on Calvary, the hill near Jerusalem on which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified; the word comes from Calvarius, Latin for the Hebrew Golgotha; see Matthew 27:33.
“Life’s Repetend”: Later Lyrics, p. 22; Poetry, p. 116. April 1899. A repetend is a refrain or repetition.
“A Rubric”: Lyrics, p. 111; Poetry, p. 13. October 1895. This poem, part and parcel, is an elaborate extended metaphor on the Church’s worship: rubrics are instructions and directions for celebrating the liturgy; purple is the liturgical color of affliction and melancholy; an antiphon is a short refrain; pontifical robes are vestments worn by bishops and other prelates; Indian Summer is a warm spell when the leaves are in color; the pall is a long cloth draped over a coffin, to which the fall of snow corresponds.
“Autumn-Glow”: Father Tabb, p. 191; Poetry, p. 368. November 1900.
