FIREFLIES IN THE GARDEN
by Robert Frost
Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,
And here on earth come emulating flies,
That though they never equal stars in size,
(And they were never really stars at heart)
Achieve at times a very star-like start.
Only, of course, they can’t sustain the part.
SOURCE: “Fireflies in the Garden” appears in The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (1983).
IMAGE: “Fireflies at Night” by Sierra, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
CONSTELLATIONS
by Robert Frost
You’ll wait a long, long time for anything much
To happen in heaven beyond the floats of cloud
And the Northern Lights that run like tingling nerves.
The sun and moon get crossed, but they never touch,
Nor strike out fire from each other nor crash out loud.
The planets seem to interfere in their curves —
But nothing ever happens, no harm is done.
We may as well go patiently on with our life,
And look elsewhere than to stars and moon and sun
For the shocks and changes we need to keep us sane.
It is true the longest drought will end in rain,
The longest peace in China will end in strife.
Still it wouldn’t reward the watcher to stay awake
In hopes of seeing the calm of heaven break
On his particular time and personal sight.
That calm seems certainly safe to last to-night.
PHOTO: “Northern Lights” by Jordan Thompson, Ft. McMurray Today, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
THE STAR SPLITTER (Excerpt)
by Robert Frost
“You know Orion always comes up sideways.
Throwing a leg up over our fence of mountains,
And rising on his hands, he looks in on me
Busy outdoors by lantern-light with something
I should have done by daylight, and indeed,
After the ground is frozen, I should have done
Before it froze, and a gust flings a handful
Of waste leaves at my smoky lantern chimney
To make fun of my way of doing things,
Or else fun of Orion’s having caught me.
Has a man, I should like to ask, no rights
These forces are obliged to pay respect to?”
So Brad McLaughlin mingled reckless talk
Of heavenly stars with hugger-mugger farming,
Till having failed at hugger-mugger farming,
He burned his house down for the fire insurance
And spent the proceeds on a telescope
To satisfy a lifelong curiosity
About our place among the infinities…
…Read “The Star Splitter” by Robert Frost in its entirety at poetryfoundation.org.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963) was one of the most popular and critically respected American poets of the twentieth century. He received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetical works. (Read more at wikipedia.org.)
…from “The Birches” by Robert Frost:
When I see birches bend to left and rightAcross the lines of straighter darker trees,I like to think some boy’s been swinging them…One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.”
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