Wednesday, June 3, 2020

The Autumn Lake

Read "The Autumn Lake" at The Eldritch Dark:

http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/poetry/38/the-autumn-lake

Clark Ashton Smith (CAS) wrote both English and French versions of this poem, the latter with the title "Le Lac d'automne".  It's a beautiful remembrance of a visit to a montane setting, simple but rendered with the lush appreciation of an experience of nature:


To dwell with you, and know the mountain seasons,
The fleeing cloud, the cliff and pine eternal,
The fall of leaf and snow and blossom vernal
Upon your placid waters.


I appreciate CAS' ability as a poet to render grand, sweeping vistas (as with "Nero", "The Hashish-Eater", etc) but also to write of the small (but essential) experiences of everyday life.

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