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Thou blossom, bright with autumn dew,
And colored with the heaven’s own blue,
That openest when the quiet light
Succeeds the keen and frosty night,
Thou comest not when violets lean
O’er wandering brooks and springs unseen,
Or columbines, in purple dressed,
Nod o’er the ground bird’s hidden nest.
Thou waitest late, and com’st alone,
When woods are bare and birds are flown,
And frosts and shortening days portend
The aged year is near his end.
Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye
Look through its fringes to the sky,
Blue — blue — as if that sky let fall
A flower from its cerulean wall.
I would that thus, when I shall see
The hour of death draw near to me,
Hope, blossoming within my heart,
May look to heaven as I depart.
( William Cullen Bryant )
gentian : a kind of herb with leaves and blue flower
portend : to foretell something
cerulean : sky-blue
Answer the following questions.
1) Who is this poem addressed to?
2) What time of year is it?
3) What colour is the gentian?
4) When do violets come?
5) How do we know that winter is approaching?
6) What does the poet compare the end of the year to?