In November (1)
The leafless forests slowly yield
To the thick-driving snow. A little while
And night shall darken down. In shouting file
The woodmen's carts go by me homeward-wheeled,
Past the thin fading stubbles, half concealed,
Now golden-gray, sowed softly through with snow,
Where the last ploughman follows still his row,
Turning black furrows through the whitening field.
Far off the village lamps begin to gleam,
Fast drives the snow, and no man comes this way;
The hills grow wintry white, and bleak winds moan
About the naked uplands. I alone
Am neither sad, nor shelterless, nor gray,
Wrapped round with thought, content to watch and dream.
Composition date is unknown - the above date represents the first publication date.Form: Sonnet: abbaaccadeffed Title: Retitled "Late November" by Scott in 1925 to avoid duplicating the title of another poem.However, Lampman's original wish can be respected if the two poems are distinguished by numbering them.1.leafless: reads "far-off" (in Klinck)
