An ode to the delights of autumn: When did you fall for fall? Some reflections on the meaning of the season

When did you fall for autumn?

When did the third season of the year become first on your list?

Why do you love this time of glorious colors, cool evenings and warm gatherings with people close to you?

I admit to being addicted to autumn, to adoring the period between the heat and storms of summer and the cold and snows of winter. It always passes too quickly, but we all remember favorite moments from Septembers, Octobers and Novembers long gone but still held dear.

With fall having arrived at 1:19 p.m. CDT Monday, I wanted to reflect on this glorious time of year by quoting poets, authors and other talented folks who can capture the true meaning of the season.

“The flame-red moon, the harvest moon, rolls along the hills, gently bouncing, a vast balloon.” — poet Ted Hughes in “The Harvest Moon.”

“How bravely Autumn paints upon the sky the gorgeous fame of Summer which is fled!” — author and poet Thomas Hood.

“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.” — poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant.

“The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn, And the raspin’ of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn.” — writer and poet James Whitcomb Riley, “When the Frost is on the Punkin’.”

“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!” — poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

“I watch the birds fly south across the autumn sky / And one by one they disappear.” — rock band The Moody Blues in the song “Forever Autumn.”

“But I miss you most of all, my darling / When autumn leaves start to fall.” — singer and legend Frank Sinatra in “Autumn Leaves,” lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

“Nature’s first green is gold.” — poet Robert Frost, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”

“It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.” — journalist and author B.C. Forbes.

“Autumn, it carries more gold in its hand than all the other seasons.” — journalist and author Jim Bishop.

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me / Fluttering from the autumn tree.” — poet Emily Brontë in “Fall, Leaves, Fall.”

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” — author L.M. Montgomery in “Anne of Green Gables.”

We couldn’t have said it better, but we encourage you to venture forth in the coming weeks to be inspired by the awesome nature of fall. Delight in the experiences and sensations.

Get out there and pick some apples. Kick leaves. Make hot chocolate or sip cider. Throw on a sweater and go for a stroll, letting your soul be filled by this special season.

One more quote worth repeating: “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” — author F. Scott Fitzgerald in “The Great Gatsby.”

Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.

Photo: Montana’s Blackfoot River, public domain, wikimedia commons

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