Read "The Summons" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
I think the leaf would sooner / Be the first to break away, / Than to hang alone in the orchard / In the bleak November day. / And I think the fate of the flower / That falls in the midst of bloom / Is sweeter than if it lingered / To die in the autumn's gloom.
Some glowing, golden morning / In the heart of the summer time, / As I stand in the perfect vigor / And strength of my youth's glad prime; / When my heart is light and happy, / And the world seems bright to me, / I would like to drop from this earth-life, / As a green leaf drops from the tree.