Aftermath by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
After the summer mowing, with birds flown, leaves scattered and snow falling, the speaker describes mowing the fields again. This second harvest contains weed-mired grass and tangled tufts from marshes and meadows rather than fresh flowers or clover bloom.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Nature Poetry, Seasonal Poetry · 132 words
First lines
When the summer fields are mown, / When the birds are fledged and flown, / And the dry leaves strew the path; / With the falling of the snow, / With the cawing of the crow, / Once again the fields we mow / And gather in the aftermath.
Not the sweet, new grass with flowers / Is this harvesting of ours; / Not the upland clover bloom; / But the rowen mired with weeds, / Tangled tufts from marsh and meads, / Where the poppy drops its seeds / In the silence and the gloom.
Genres
- Nature Poetry — Two rhymed stanzas describe mown fields, departed birds, fallen leaves, snow and the plants gathered in a second harvest.
- Seasonal Poetry — The harvest follows summer's mowing and takes place amid dry leaves, falling snow and cawing crows.
Tags
second harvest · mowing · seasonal change · meadows · weeds · snow
What this Textopian page supports
Aftermath is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Nature Poetry, Seasonal Poetry
- Length: 132 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
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