After the Winter
Published in Poem Of The Day
Some day, when trees have shed their leaves
And against the morning's white
The shivering birds beneath the eaves
Have sheltered for the night,
We'll turn our faces southward, love,
Toward the summer isle
Where bamboos spire to shafted grove
And wide-mouthed orchids smile.
And we will seek the quiet hill
Where towers the cotton tree,
And leaps the laughing crystal rill,
And works the droning bee.
And we will build a cottage there
Beside an open glade,
With black-ribbed blue-bells blowing near,
And ferns that never fade.
About this poem
"After the Winter" was published in Claude McKay's book "Harlem Shadows" (Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1922).
About Claude McKay
Claude McKay was born in Jamaica on Sept. 15, 1889. His books include "Songs of Jamaica" (1912) and "Constab Ballads" (1912). McKay died on May 22, 1948.
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This poem is in the public domain. Distributed by King Features Syndicate
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