Gathering Leaves

Robert Frost 1874 (San Francisco) – 1963 (Boston)



Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.

But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.

I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 18, 2023

32 sec read
357

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB XCXC XDXD XEXE XFXF XGXG
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 524
Words 108
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Robert Frost

Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in America. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. more…

All Robert Frost poems | Robert Frost Books

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