‘November’ by Alice Cary

The Spring will be sure to come

The leaves are fading and falling, The winds are rough and wild, The birds have ceased their calling, But let me tell, you my child,

Though day by day, as it closes, Doth darker and colder grow, The roots of the bright red roses Will keep alive in the snow.

And when the Winter is over, The boughs will get new leaves, The quail come back to the clover, And the swallow back to the eaves.

The robin will wear on his bosom A vest that is bright and new, And the loveliest way-side blossom Will shine with the sun and dew.

The leaves to-day are whirling, The brooks are all dry and dumb, But let me tell, you my darling, The Spring will be sure to come.

There must be rough, cold weather, And winds and rains so wild; Not all good things together Come to us here, my child.

So, when some dear joy loses Its beauteous summer glow, Think how the roots of the roses Are kept alive in the snow.

Alice Cary, an American poet, (1820–1871), persevered with her literary ambitions despite a stepmother who thought writing sinful.

In 1850 Alice Cary took the daring step of moving to New York City, determined to earn a living as a writer. She succeeded through sheer determination and hard work. Like so many of her time, Alice Cary succumbed too early to tuberculosis.

“There’s nothing so kingly as kindness, and nothing so royal as truth.” Alice Cary

My own creativity is always refreshed by reading the creative works of others — especially some of the classic poems, knowing they were written in a different world at a different time, with a different mindset.

This poem is in the public domain. Stuff you need to know about the use of other people’s work.

Stuff you need to know about the use of other people’s work:

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