Symbol

The winter apples have been picked, the garden turned.
Rain and wind have picked the maple leaves and gone.
The last of them now bank the house or have been burned.
None are left upon the trees or on the lawn.

Green and tall as ever it grew in spring the grass.
Grows not too tall, will not be cut again this year.
Geraniums in bloom behind the window glass
Are safe. Fall has fallen yet winter is not yet here.

How warm the late November sun although how wan.
The white house stands a symbol of fulfillment there,
Housing one old woman, a cat, and one old man
After abundance but before the earth is bare.

By Robert Francis from Robert Francis: Collected Poems. © University of Massachusets Press. Reprinted with permission. (buy now)