Poetry and Art, Robert Frost, Leslie McCallen

 

 

My November Guest
By Robert Frost (1874–1963).  
From A Boy’s Will.  1915.

MY Sorrow, when she's here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.
Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She's glad the birds are gone away,
She's glad her simple worsted gray
Is silver now with clinging mist.The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.

AUTHOR:Frost, Robert, 1874–1963.
TITLE:A boy’s will, by Robert Frost.
PUBLISHED:New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1915.
Originally published: 1st ed. London: David Nutt, 1913.

Maybe it’s possible to see things through the eyes ofsomeone else. I used to hate the winter, it’s cold, grey, damp and unappealing. But after living here on the east coast for over twenty years I find I relate to this poem. Sometimes there is a beauty in the leafless trees and grey sky that is different, but in its own way just as beautiful, as a warm sunny day, and I find the people who have always lived here recognise this.

ART WORK BY AMERICAN ARTIST
LESLIE MCCALLEN GILBERT
WEB SITE FOR ARTIST HERE

http://www.lesliemccallengilbert.com/

A lifelong resident of Nashville. Lesley left the area briefly to study art and photography at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee and  earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1990. Continued to study art independently and through classes and workshops in painting and drawing.  Studied for six years  under the tutelage of local portrait artist Michael Shane Neal in Nashville.
Work shown  locally at the annual Harding Academy Art Show, the University School of Nashville's Artclectic Show, the Central South Art Exhibition, Belle Meade Plantation, and the Temple Arts Festival at The Temple Congregation Ohabai Sholom,  Local Color Gallery on Broadway in Nashville and at Willis Gray Gallery in Decatur, Alabama.

delete reply pestep55 wrote on Jan 6, '10 Love Frost /:-) Great post!

delete reply freespire wrote on Jan 6, '10 I believe you are right not only is this a wonderful poem but like all poems they are works of art with a message left behind that gives us much to think about from just a few short lines :-) Wulfie wrote "Maybe it’s possible to see things through the eyes ofsomeone else"

delete reply asolotraveler wrote on Nov 7, '09, edited on Nov 7, '09 EXCELLENT POEM AND EXQUISITE ART! ==== and BTW I LOVE WINTER

delete reply madisonpooface wrote on Nov 4, '09 Autumn has always been my favorite time of the year. His poem is beautiful as his works always are. I had never read that one. thanks for sharing with me. And the art work is just wonderful. couldn't be a better accompaniment for the poem

delete reply caffeinatedjo wrote on Nov 4, '09 I agree, Loretta, that beauty can be found in the fall season. The colors alone make it a masterpiece. Great art. I particularly like the one of the front steps on the wall leading up to the house.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Nov 4, '09 I love this tribute to November and it is a treat to read a Frost poem I had not read before. The pictures are lovely but speak to me more of a warm October. Still and all a great post. I have seen where you live and it is lovely.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Nov 4, '09 Each season has its own beauty. I'm an autumn lover because I love the smells. We still have that group of birds, which aren't native to Spain, screeching their heads off in one of the parks nearby.

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Nov 3, '09 I love Frost's poem. I have to agree with your thoughts about winter. Since I came to live in this area ten years ago, I've gained an appreciation of winter that was lacking when I lived in the city.

delete reply lauritasita wrote on Nov 3, '09 I love Robert Frost, too, as you know. This was such a lovely poem, and I loved your little commentary at the end about seeing through others eyes sometimes. I know Novemeber seems dull, but with the birds gone for the winter, there is still that peaceful serenity that remains behind. Beautiful artwork, too. Love, Laurita.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Nov 3, '09 Excellent post and I am a Robert Frost fan; however, even Frost will not convince me to like winter or to give that idea a passing thought.

delete reply starfishred wrote on Nov 3, '09 very nice post loretta but I still dislike winter lol