A poem that is full of wisdom about how to live. Using the seasons of the year as an analogy Douglas Malloch expresses a way to live by helping others and being kind. He discusses how aging makes you
realize that how we see things changes with time. Let the words in these verses be ones that you reflect upon.
Some would have Spring within the heart,
But I, some mellow month in mine
Like old October: flowers depart,
And even youth must resign -
But always, brothers, there are some
To whom no Winters ever come:
Always October skies are theirs,
Even amid life's wintry cares.
And I would have my soul look the same:
I cannot keep the look of youth,
But how October maples flame -
Age takes our beauty, gives us truth,
Age takes our wit, and makes us wise,
Age gives us life's October skies
And old October's mellower days,
A better time a thousand ways.
God make me mellow! Make me not
Sudden as Summer, brief as Spring.
I would not blow too cold, too hot,
I would keep kind through ev'rything.
I may give others less than flow'rs
Of flattery, but in their hours
Of grief, of trouble and of need
May I bring rather fruits to feed.
