“September” by Lucy Maud Montgomery

People often comment on the bittersweet character of autumn. On the one had, there are bountiful harvests and gorgeous autumn foliage; on the other, we know that winter is coming and that all those good seasonal things are coming to their imminent end. Before you know it, the trees are barren, and the blooming meadows gone. 

Sounds a bit like an allegory of life, doesn’t it?

The following short sonnet, written by the famous Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942), is precisely about the transitory nature of autumn. Standing between summer and winter, the month of September is still warm and delightful, but there are telling signs of change in the air…

English language learners: don’t miss two simple vocabulary exercises to help you work through this poem. It may be short, but there’s a lot to unpack. 

---

Lo! a ripe sheaf of many golden days
Gleaned by the year in autumn's harvest ways,
With here and there, blood-tinted as an ember,
Some crimson poppy of a late delight
Atoning in its splendor for the flight
Of summer blooms and joys­
This is September.

---

VOCABULARY EXERCISES

Find the words in the poem above with the following definitions / synonyms:

• the activity of picking and collecting crops (n.)
• to do something right to make up for something done wrong; to make reparation (v.)
• to obtain, get; here: gather after a harvest (v.)
• here: escape (n.)
• dark, deep red colour (adj.)
• fully grown and developed, mature (adj.)

Find the words in the poem for the things seen in these images:

---

To check your answers, please click here. And do feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section below!

---

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Snapshot by Marta Wave via Pexels.