To autumn

[ZaunköniG]

To autumn

Mild pensive Autumn! how I love to stray
At thy sweet season through the woody vale;
And when the western orb’s declining ray
Tinges thy varied foliage, hear the gale

Of evening sigh among the lofty trees,
And watch thy mists obscure the mountain’s height;
While sportive swallows, tossing in the breeze,
Collect, preparing for their distant flight.

As, lovely Autumn! on thy charms I gaze,
Thy soften’d charms which I so dearly prize,
A thrilling tender melancholy sways

My raptur’d heart, and tears suffuse my eyes.
These feelings, which thy pensive hours employ,
Who would resingn for all the world calls joy!