Carolyn Meyer, "Napa Taffy II" 20" x 20" oil

A Poem for Today:

SEPTEMBER 1815

          WHILE not a leaf seems faded; while the fields,
       With ripening harvest prodigally fair,
       In brightest sunshine bask; this nipping air,
       Sent from some distant clime where Winter wields
       His icy scimitar, a foretaste yields
       Of bitter change, and bids the flowers beware;
       And whispers to the silent birds, "Prepare
       Against the threatening foe your trustiest shields."
       For me, who under kindlier laws belong
       To Nature's tuneful quire, this rustling dry                10
       Through leaves yet green, and yon crystalline sky,
       Announce a season potent to renew,
       'Mid frost and snow, the instinctive joys of song,
       And nobler cares than listless summer knew.

 -- William Wordsworth