"I Sought the Wood in Winter" by Willa Cather

Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Your gift today will help the Academy of American Poets continue to publish the work of 260 poets each year, and share this series with 300,000 readers every day.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
March 5, 2022 

I Sought the Wood in Winter

Willa Cather

I sought the wood in summer
       When every twig was green;
The rudest boughs were tender,
       And buds were pink between.
Light-fingered aspens trembled
       In fitful sun and shade,
And daffodils were golden
       In every starry glade.
The brook sang like a robin—
       My hand could check him where
The lissome maiden willows
       Shook out their yellow hair.

“How frail a thing is Beauty,”
       I said, “when every breath
She gives the vagrant summer
       But swifter woos her death.
For this the star dust troubles,
       For this have ages rolled:
To deck the wood for bridal
       And slay her with the cold.”

I sought the wood in winter
       When every leaf was dead;
Behind the wind-whipped branches
       The winter sun set red.
The coldest star was rising
       To greet that bitter air,
The oaks were writhen giants;
       Nor bud nor bloom was there.
The birches, white and slender,
       In deathless marble stood,
The brook, a white immortal,
       Slept silent in the wood.

“How sure a thing is Beauty,”
       I cried. “No bolt can slay,
No wave nor shock despoil her,
       No ravishers dismay.
Her warriors are the angels
       That cherish from afar,
Her warders people Heaven
       And watch from every star.
The granite hills are slighter,
       The sea more like to fail;
Behind the rose the planet,
       The Law behind the veil.”

This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on March 5, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

“I Sought the Wood in Winter” originally appeared in April Twilights (The Gorham Press, 1903).

Willa Sibert Cather, born on December 7, 1873, in Gore, Virginia, was a poet and novelist. She was the author of many titles, including April Twilights (The Gorham Press, 1903), My Ántonia (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1918), and One of Ours (Alfred A. Knopf, 1922), for which she received the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, now the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She died on April 24, 1947.

April Twilights
(The Gorham Press, 1903)

“Winter Sleep” by Edith Matilda Thomas
read more
“How Near to Fairyland” by Yone Noguchi
read more

Thanks to Brenda Shaughnessy, author of The Octopus Museum: Poems (Knopf, 2021), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Listen to a Q&A about Shaughnessy’s curatorial approach and find out more about our guest editors for the year.
This free, daily series is made possible by our readers. If you’re able, please consider donating to support this work. 
Become a monthly sustainer
join
Make a one-time gift
donate
Copyright © 2022 The Academy of American Poets, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
The Academy of American Poets
75 Maiden Lane
St #901
New York, NY 10038

Add us to your address book


View this email in your browser

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Older messages

Poems for Women's History Month

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Plus, browse videos from the 2022 Dear Poet project Facebook Twitter Instagram March 2022 March is Women's History Month—this month and year-round, celebrate with the following classic and

"Drift" by Alicia Mountain

Thursday, March 3, 2022

The gold March dawn / and below my window Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day March 3, 2022 Drift Alicia Mountain The gold March dawn and below my window a man carves his car from the snow

"The Heedless Shepherd" by Monica McClure

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Grief is a family going down one by one Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day March 2, 2022 The Heedless Shepherd Monica McClure Grief is a family going down one by one Wild buffalo tread on

Poems for Women's History Month and more

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Support Poets.org March 1, 2022 Women's History Month Celebrate Women's History Month with these voices from Poets.org: “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou “The 19th Amendment & My Mama” by

"As a Father of Daughters" by Hannah Aizenman

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

As a fathom of waters Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day March 1, 2022 As a Father of Daughters Hannah Aizenman As a fathom of waters As a keeper of otters As a fan of the Dodgers As a

You Might Also Like

Why Dobbs Didn't Deliver a Win for Democrats

Friday, November 8, 2024

Running against GOP abortion bans had been the Dems secret weapon ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

This 2-year-old is all of us

Friday, November 8, 2024

— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today November 8, 2024 Subscribe Read in browser But first: what our founders are gifting for the holidays Update location or View forecast Quote of the Day “The

"the cherry end of your cigarette against the pale sky" by Levi Romero

Friday, November 8, 2024

outside the prickling air burned hot / against what we'd left behind Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 8, 2024 the cherry end of your cigarette against the pale sky Levi Romero

DO Wales 2024 Talks are live

Friday, November 8, 2024

They are special. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Magnanimous dictators

Friday, November 8, 2024

It's 1972 and Ennio Flaiano knows he's going to die. He gets his affairs and journals in order and makes one final entry. It's about - of all things - beloved dictators. It's about how

Victoria Beckham & Daughter Harper Wore The Prettiest Matching Looks On The Red Carpet

Friday, November 8, 2024

Like mother like daughter. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 11.7.2024 Victoria Beckham & Daughter Harper Wore The Prettiest Matching Looks On The Red Carpet (Celebrity) Victoria Beckham &

The Best 7-Minute Workouts

Friday, November 8, 2024

Mens Health Shop logo Torch fat and build muscle in 7 minutes The most efficient exercises for weight loss - Men's Health 7-Minute Workouts for Fat Burn Are you tough enough to handle these 7-

'Theme' Every Work Day for a More Productive Week

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Don't Delete Your X Account (Do This Instead). Every day should have a specific focus when you're working on something big. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter online. TODAY'S

Selena Gomez’s Cleavage-Baring “Cheugy” Dress Was Dazzling

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Plus, Tyla's tiger print French mani, the 'Golden Bachelor' effect, your horoscope, & more. Nov. 7, 2024 Bustle Daily Gerry Turner, who led the successful first season of 'The

1.5C is dead. The climate fight isn’t.

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Trump's re-election is “the final nail in the coffin” for the Paris Agreement's North Star goal, nine experts told HEATED. But we can still limit the damage. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏