Classic Poem

We climbed the slope above the valley's edge;
Behind, the country road, a ribbon lay
Of powdery dust down-winding dim and gray;
A bird sang sweetly from a thorny hedge
And ripples circled in the river sedge,
While brown October dozed the hours away;
And northward and beyond the hillside clay
The clustering sumach flamed along a ledge.

The life of ruddy Autumn filled its veins
Deep-glowing masses glinting in the sun,
Redder than the wild strawberry, where it stains
The woodland ways mid light and shadow spun;
A gorgeous dream, a color-draught divine,
Spilled on the golden afternoon like wine.