Falltime
Falltime - meaning Summary
Autumn's Quiet Questions
Sandburg's poem observes autumn sights and asks what they mean. Bright, tactile images—gold straw, blue thistles, shining tomatoes—are paired with humanized wishes and restless birds migrating south. The speaker treats seasonal detail as evidence of emotional states, wondering whether the scene signals completion or a forthcoming beginning. The poem reads as a brief, reflective meditation linking landscape imagery to questions about change, longing, and transition.
Read Complete AnalysesGOLD of a ripe oat straw, gold of a southwest moon, Canada thistle blue and flimmering larkspur blue, Tomatoes shining in the October sun with red hearts, Shining five and six in a row on a wooden fence, Why do you keep wishes on your faces all day long, Wishes like women with half-forgotten lovers going to new cities? What is there for you in the birds, the birds, the birds, crying down on the north wind in September, acres of birds spotting the air going south? Is there something finished? And some new beginning on the way?
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