Showing posts with label Poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poetry. Show all posts

November 12, 2022

The Winter Wind by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, January 1904

In January 1904, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "The Winter Wind" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

The Winter Wind by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, January 1904

Here is the full text of the poem:

THE WINTER WIND
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

I am the gladdest of winds that blow
Though I come from the realms of ice and snow.

I waken the notes of the pine tree lyres
When the sunset kindles its crimson fires.

I dance over meadows and valleys white
In the sparkling frost of a winter night.

I croon a song that is low and sweet
When the dawn creeps out on her silver feet.

I nip and pinch with a right good will
The children’s cheeks on the coasting hill.

I sting to action the hearts of those
I meet on my way from the Northland snows.

Laughter rings when I whistle by,
For a right good, rollicking wind am I.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1904, January). The Winter Wind. The Farm Journal. 28(1): 1. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1904-01_28_1/mode/2up

Created November 12, 2022.

November 04, 2022

The Time of the Clover Blossom by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, June 1904

In June 1904, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "The Time of the Clover Blossom" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

The Time of the Clover Blossom by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, June 1904

Here is the full text of the poem:

THE TIME OF THE CLOVER BLOSSOM
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

The wind from the slopes of pineland
Drifts over the wide green fields
To mingle its breath with the incense
That rose-red clover yields;
The clouds on the far horizon
Are white in the peaceful blue,
And the brooks are tenderly crooning
The sun-warm valleys through.

All over the leagues of grasses
The shadows and ripples go,
And a bluebird is blithely singing
In the pasture down below;
For he knows that near him is cradled
His mate in her tiny nest,
And the time of the clover blossom
Is the sweetest and the best.

Song on the hills and uplands,
Song in the meadows fair,
Song in the beautiful valleys,
Song on the forest air!
And a gladness deep and lasting
That broods on the starry sod—
In the time of the clover blossom,
The world is near to God.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1904, June). The Time of the Clover Blossom. The Farm Journal. 28(6): 223. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1904-06_28_6/page/222/mode/2up

Created November 4, 2022.

November 03, 2022

Buttercups by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, May 1910

In May 1910, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Buttercups" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Buttercups by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, January 1904

Here is the full text of the poem:

BUTTERCUPS
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

Like showers of gold-dust on the marsh,
Or an inverted sky,
The buttercups are dancing now
Where silver brooks run by.
Bright, bright,
As fallen flakes of light,
They nod
In time to every breeze
That chases shadows swiftly lost
Amid those grassy seas.

See what a golden frenzy flies
Through the light-hearted flowers!
In mimic fear they flutter now,
Each fairy blossom cowers.
Then up, then up,
Each shakes its yellow cup
And nods
In careless grace once more—
A very flood of sunshine seems
Across the marsh to pour.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1910, May). Buttercups. The Farm Journal. 34(5): 311. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1910-05_34_5/page/310/mode/2up

Created November 3, 2022.

November 02, 2022

Nutting Song by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, November 1906

In November 1906, L.M. Montgomery published the poem/song lyrics "Nutting Song" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Nutting Song by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, November 1906

Here is the full text of the poem:

NUTTING SONG

Light, light, rings our laughter
O’er valley and hill,
To chime with the musical
Call of the rill.
The blue skies above
With their sunshine o'erflow,
And over the meadows
Beguiling winds blow—
Heigh-ho for the nutting.

Through the boughs of the chestnuts
The mellow lights fall,
And the song of the nutters
Rings clear over all.
The maples are flame
On the crest of the hill,
And amethyst hazes
The far valleys fill
In the time of the nutting.

The mornings are frosty,
The noons are a-gleam,
The blue air is quivering
Over the stream.
The wood ways are drifted
With billows of gold,
And the world sings a song
That can never grow old
In the time of the nutting.

Oh, ours is the laughter,
The frolic and mirth,
The heyday of autumn,
The bounty of earth.
The music that echoes
The whole world along
Is borne in our hearts
And enchained in our song
In the time of the nutting.

L. M. MONTGOMERY.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1906, November). Nutting Song. The Farm Journal. 30(11): 374. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1906-11_30_11/page/374/mode/2up

Created November 2, 2022.

November 01, 2022

November Dusk by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, November 1904

In November 1904, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "November Dusk" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

November Dusk by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, November 1904

Here is the full text of the poem:

NOVEMBER DUSK

A weird and dreamy stillness falls upon
The purple, breathless earth, the wind-less woods,
The wimpling rims of valley solitudes,
The wide, gray stubble-fields and fallows wan—
A quiet hush, as if, her heyday gone,
Tired Nature folded weary hands for rest
Across the faded vesture of her breast,
Knowing her wintry slumbers hasten on.
Far and away beyond the ocean’s rim
The dull-red sunset fades into the gray
Of sombre, wind-rent clouds that marshall grim
Around the closing portals of the day,
While from the margin of the tawny shore
Comes up the voice of waters evermore.

L. M. MONTGOMERY.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1904, November). November Dusk. The Farm Journal. 28(11): 372. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1904-11_28_11/page/372/mode/2up

Created November 1, 2022.

October 30, 2022

Down in the Pastures by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, July 1906

In July 1906, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Down in the Pastures" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Down in the Pastures by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, July 1906


Here is the full text of the poem:

DOWN IN THE PASTURES
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

Down in the pastures, remote and cool,
In the glow of a golden afternoon,
Where the calm-eyed cows by the birchen pool
Browse, and meandering breezes croon
Among the clover and daisies there,
In the wine-like sweetness of summer air,
I rambled to-day—no companionships
Of human creatures, no voice save the low
Leaf murmurs that wandered to and fro,
And the brook’s mysterious sibylline lips.

A bluebird, perched on a picket gray,
Sang a song that was blithe and free;
It looked askance as I passed that way,
Yet the shy thing seemed not afraid of me.
And each wild rose that opened there
Its virgin lips to the calm blue air
Among the bracken a welcome gave,
And I felt that everything, flower and bird,
By some subtle instinct of joy was stirred,
Such as mortals know not and vainly crave.

O, it was sweet on this summer day
To learn my kinship to those wild things,
To feel as unfettered and glad as they
And as if my spirit at least had wings,
To lay my heart against Nature’s own
Till the haunting music of each deep tone
Passed into my soul with a rapt release
From the pain and turmoil of outer life,
To forget the meaning of selfish strife
And learn the depth of primeval peace.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1906, July). Down in the Pastures. The Farm Journal. 30(7): 234. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1906-07_30_7/page/234/mode/2up

Created October 30, 2022.

October 23, 2022

Drought by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, August 1908

In August 1908, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Drought" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Drought by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, August 1908


Here is the full text of the poem:

DROUGHT
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

So long it is since kindly rain
Fell on the thirsty meadow lands,
The birds forget their old refrain,
The trees uplift their pleading hands
To hard, bright skies that do not heed,
But arch above the valley dim
And touch the far hills’ burning rim
And care not for our mighty need.

Athwart the dusty highways’ glare
The wan white daisies drooping lean,
The roses faint in their despair
On pasture slopes no longer green.
The plaintive brooks have ceased to pray
Unfed by springs whose lips are dry,
And the dull evening in the sky
Shuts out the brazen edge of day.

Great Father, listen to our prayer,
And send on us Thy gracious rain
To hush the moan of our despair
And drown the memory of our pain.
Then all the hills to Thee will raise
A psalm of utter thankfulness,
Thy name each thirsty blossom bless,
And every meadow hymn Thy praise.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1908, August). Drought. The Farm Journal. 32(8): 298. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1908-08_32_8/page/n1/mode/2up

Created October 23, 2022.

October 22, 2022

The Light in Mother's Eyes by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, January 1909

In January 1909, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "The Light in Mother's Eyes" about her mother Clara Woolner Macneill Montgomery in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

The Light in Mother's Eyes by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, January 1909

Here is the full text of the poem:

THE LIGHT IN MOTHER’S EYES
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

Dear beacon of my childhood’s day,
The lodestar of my youth,
A mingled glow of tenderest love
And firm, unswerving truth,
I’ve wandered far o'er east and west,
’Neath many stranger skies,
But ne’er I’ve seen a fairer light
Than that in mother’s eyes.

In childhood when I crept to lay
My tired head on her knee,
How gently shone the mother-love
In those dear eyes on me;
And when in youth my eager feet
Roamed from her side afar,
Where’er I went that light divine
Was aye my guiding star.

In hours when all life’s sweetest buds
Burst into dewy bloom,
In hours when cherished hopes lay dead
In sorrow and in gloom;
In evening’s hush, or morning’s glow,
Or in the solemn night,
Those mother eyes still shed on me
Their calm, unchanging light.

Long since the patient hands I loved
Were folded in the clay,
And long have seemed the lonely years
Since mother went away;
But still I know she waits for me
In fields of Paradise,
And I shall reach them yet, led by
The light in mother’s eyes.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1909, January). The Light in Mother's Eyes. The Farm Journal. 33(1): 35. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1909-01_33_1/page/34/mode/2up

Created October 22, 2022.

October 21, 2022

Bob's Stories by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, October 1910

In October 1910, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Bob's Stories" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Bob's Stories by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, October 1910

Here is the full text of the poem:

BOB’S STORIES
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

The sky was a windy tent when he
His stories told,
Shot all through with mellow hues:
And vagrant winds went lowing free
Over fields all wet with nightly dews,
And the West was gold.

Tired from work and play were we
When the day was done;
Hanging around the old back door
To hear the wonderful yarns that he
On those dusky, breezy eves of yore
Unwearied spun.

Bob was never stuck, not he,
For a story to tell.
He made them all out of his own small head,
Fairies and dragons and witches; we
Were almost too scared to go to bed
When the darkness fell.

Enchanted castles and knights galore
And pirates bold,
Marvelous ventures on land and sea,—
The wilder it all might be the more
We liked it and listened breathlessly,
Till the tale was told.

Books were nothing to him, we thought,
Not half such fun
As to sit around with wide-opened eyes,
Our little every-day world forgot,
And listen with awed, delicious surprise
To the yarns he spun.

Bob since then to other ears
Has stories told;
Over the world has flown his fame.
Men and women with laughter and tears
Read the books that bear his name
In letters of gold.

But I’m ready to wager that never he
Sweeter praise has won
Than we gave unstintedly years ago,
When, a barefooted, dusty fraternity,
We listened, wide-eyed, in the sunset glow
To the yarns he spun


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1910, October). Bob's Stories. The Farm Journal. 34(10): 466. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1910-10_34_10/page/466/mode/2up

Created October 13, 2022.

October 20, 2022

Night in the Country by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, October 1904

In October 1904, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Night in the Country" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Night in the Country by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, October 1904

Here is the full text of the poem:

NIGHT IN THE COUNTRY

In the city the night is gay,
Brighter, more feverish than the day;
Throngs unceasing pass through the glare,
Allured by pleasure or urged by care.

The noisy stir, the busy hum
Of unresting life is seldom dumb,
The benediction of midnight deep
Never may fall on the city’s sleep.

In the country the dusk, sweet night
Has the solemn calm of the infinite:
The dim, wide fields in silence lie
Under the arch of ebon sky.

The wind steals out of the quiet woods
To blow over dew-chrismed solitudes;
The hush of the hour is still and deep
In the pastures where the cattle sleep.

The kindly stars shine above the hills,
With balm and healing the night-time fills.
Here in the country one may rest
Like a child on its mother’s breast.

L. M. MONTGOMERY.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1904, October). Night in the Country. The Farm Journal. 28(10): 332. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1904-10_28_10/page/332/mode/2up

Created October 20, 2022.

October 18, 2022

In Wheaten Meadows by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, July 1908

In July 1908, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "In Wheaten Meadows" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

In Wheaten Meadows by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, July 1908


Here is the full text of the poem:

IN WHEATEN MEADOWS
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

There are winds that riot o’er meadows still,
Over slopes of harvest gold,
From the fir-set rim of an orient hill,
With a vibrant melody athrill,
And a music all untold.

There are shadows and ripples, uncharted
and fleet,
Where the fretted tassels sway;
The call of the bluebird is lyric-sweet,
And the crimson poppies among the wheat
Look up to the mellow day.

Widely the ministrant meadows lie,
Lavish of rapture and rest;
White are the clouds in the slumberous sky,
And elfin the voices that wander by
The grass-hid field-lark’s nest.

Perhaps o’er the shadowy hills afar,
Unresting souls may throng,
And there may tumult and strife and jar
And ignoble discord and struggle mar
Earth’s full-voiced, matchless song.

But here, where the silken poppies burn,
And the air is pure and sweet,
We may hark to the rhythm for which we yearn,
And many an ancient lesson learn
In the meadows among the wheat.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1908, July). In Wheaten Meadows. The Farm Journal. 32(7): 274. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1908-07_32_7/page/n1/mode/2up

Created October 18, 2022.

October 17, 2022

My Pictures by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, May 1906

In May 1906, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "My Pictures" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

My Pictures by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, May 1906

Here is the full text of the poem:

MY PICTURES

My pictures? Why, yes; I will show them with gladness—
Their number is small, but each one is a gem;
And in shadow or sunshine they charm away sadness,
The world is forgotten while gazing at them.

They were painted, each one, by the hand of a master
Whose skill is unquestioned, whose brush is most true,
Whose colors are brighter, whose canvasses vaster
Than any, my friend, that are cherished by you.

See! There is a valley that’s dappled with shadow
And threaded with sunshine, in bosk and in dell;
Or here, if you like, is a green stretch of meadow
A-twinkle with daisies where buttercups dwell,

Here’s a garden of blossom, an orchard bloom-whitened,
And others beyond that I need not to name,
All seen at a glance when the summer has brightened
The scenes that I view from my own window frame.

L. M. MONTGOMERY


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1906, May). My Pictures. The Farm Journal. 30(5): 161. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1906-05_30_5/mode/2up

Created October 17, 2022.

October 16, 2022

When Mother Tucked Us In by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, January 1907

In January 1907, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "When Mother Tucked Us In" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

When Mother Tucked Us In by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, January 1907

Here is the full text of the poem:

WHEN MOTHER TUCKED US IN
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

The sweetest memory of all,
Which time from us can never win,
Comes when the dusking shadows fall
And winds their nightly rune begin,—
The memory of those olden eves
When mother tucked us in.

Tired from our play, and glad to rest
When twilight brought its calm-eyed star,
And in its hush the yellow moon
Rose over purple hills afar
To shine on fields whose dewy peace
No dream of strife might mar.

And yet again we hear the croon
Of winds around the old low eaves
Of the brown house where we were born,
And in the murmuring poplar leaves,—
How sweet and subtle seems again
The spell remembrance weaves!

Upon us fell the gracious boon
Of childhood’s rest; we knew no care,
We only felt a gentle hand
Upon the tangles of our hair,
We only heard in that dim room
A mother’s tender prayer.

And now we walk the busy world
With all its maze of toil and sin,
But still a rescuing talisman
We bear our secret hearts within,—
The memory of those sacred hours
When mother tucked us in.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1907, January). When Mother Tucked Us In. The Farm Journal. 31(1): 18. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1907-01_31_1/page/18/mode/2up

Created October 16, 2022.

October 15, 2022

Dawn by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, April 1911

In April 1911, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Dawn" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Dawn by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, April 1911

Here is the full text of the poem:

DAWN
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

There’s a silken fringe of light
On the ashen skirts of night,
And a fire-shot ruby rim
On the eastern hilltops dim,
And a rare,
Untainted air
Sweet from slopes all crystal dewed,
And many a clover solitude
Where night benedictions brood
At the dawn.

Hark! a burst of winged song
Floats the listening air along—
All the blithesome hush is stirred
By the rapture of a bird!
And the sky
Is clear and high
Over dells astar with flowers
Still begemmed with dewy showers,
Dreaming of the after hours
At the dawn.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1911, April). My Queen. The Farm Journal. 35(4): 244. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1911-04_35_4/page/244/mode/2up

Created October 15, 2022.

October 13, 2022

My Queen by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, March 1907

In March 1907, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "My Queen" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

My Queen by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, March 1907

Here is the full text of the poem:

MY QUEEN
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

She rules a kingdom small and fair,
Her throne is a worn rocking-chair.
Most gracious and belov'd is she,
With all her subjects at her knee,
And never could a monarch view
Subjects more loyal and more true.

My little queen with holy eyes,
Her rule is tender, firm and wise:
Content and happiness are found
Within her tiny realm's bound,
And no gemmed circlet can compare
With her bright crown of sunny hair.

My little queen with gentle heart,
Within my life she reigns apart;
To make her earthly kingdom dear
And bring the breath of heaven near,
With wifely faith and mother care,
My lady of the rocking-chair.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1907, March). My Queen. The Farm Journal. 31(3): 166. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1907-03_31_3/page/166/mode/2up

Created October 13, 2022.

October 12, 2022

Milking Time by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, May 1902

In May 1902, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Milking Time" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Milking Time by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, May 1902


Here is the full text of the poem:

MILKING TIME
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

Dusking fields that are damp with dew,
Skies of crocus and rose and blue,
After-lights on the far hill rim,
Tremulous twilight in valleys dim,
Brooks atune with a limpid chime—
Down at the bars it is milking time.

Pale-hued clovers with creamy crowns,
Buttercups in their golden gowns,
Wind-blown pines at the pasture bars,
Pearl-white glimmer of early stars,
Breezes lilting a wordless rhyme—
Down in the fields it is milking time.

Brown-eyed lassie and sturdy lad,
Laughter and mirth of hearts made glad,
Loitering couples and lagging feet—
Never an hour of the day so sweet!
Youth and love in the summer's prime
Find each other at milking time.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1902, May). Milking Time. The Farm Journal. 26(5): 161. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1902-05_26_5/mode/2up

Created October 12, 2022.

October 11, 2022

Indian Summer by L.M. Montgomery

The Farm Journal masthead, October 1902

One hundred and twenty years ago, in October 1902, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Indian Summer" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

L.M. Montgomery's poem was featured on the first page of the journal. Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:

Indian Summer by L.M. Montgomery, Poem in The Farm Journal, October 1902


Here is the full text of the poem:

INDIAN SUMMER
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

In the sun-warm valleys all sweet and low,
Shy, tender murmurs come and go
Among pale grasses; and far away
O’er the calm, blue rim of an upland still
And the peak of a far, light-smitten hill,
Wind-music drifts adown the day.

Perfect peace of a year fulfilled
Cometh now when the world is stilled
And, forgetting its turmoil of springtime days
And its later fever, takes its rest
In a golden completeness no storms molest
While the benediction of autumn stays.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1902, October). Indian Summer. The Farm Journal. 26(10): 305. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1902-10_26_10/mode/2up

Created October 11, 2022.

January 23, 2022

The Watchman and Other Poems

The Watchman and Other Poems by L.M. Montgomery, 1916 cover, University of Texas at Austin library

L.M. Montgomery published a volume of poetry titled The Watchman and Other Poems in 1916 by McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart. The book is named for the introductory poem, entitled “The Watchman.” This poem is followed by three thematic groups of poems: Songs of Sea, Songs of the Hills and Woods, and Miscellaneous.

All of the poems included in The Watchman and Other Poems had been previously published in magazines according to John Robert Sorfleet [1]. In her acknowledgements, L.M. Montgomery thanked the following publishers and magazines for granting permission to republish her poetry: The Youth's Companion, Forward, East and West, MacLean's Magazine, The Sunday School Times, Zion's Herald, The Outlook, Munsey's Magazine, The New Idea Woman's Magazine, Smart Set, The Ladies' World, The Canadian Magazine, St. Nicholas, The Congregationalist and Christian World, Everybody's Magazine, The Christian Endeavor World, The American Messenger, The Delineator, and Smith's Magazine.

L.M. Montgomery dedicated The Watchman and Other Poems to the soldiers who fought in WWI:

"To the memory of the gallant
Canadian soldiers who have laid
down their lives for their
country and their empire."

I took the photograph pictured above of a 1916 volume of The Watchman and Other Poems that I read from the University of Texas at Austin library.

Reference:
[1] Sorfleet, John. R. "L. M. Montgomery: Canadian Authoress." in L. M. Montgomery: An Assessment. Ed. John Robert Sorfleet. Guelph: Canadian Children's Press, 1976. pages 42–49.

Purchase and read The Watchman and Other Poems and The Poetry Of Lucy Maud Montgomery:

The Watchman and Other Poems by L.M. Montgomery The Poetry Of Lucy Maud Montgomery


Created February 17, 2002. Re-posted online January 23, 2022. Last updated January 23, 2022.

January 07, 2022

Bibliography of L.M. Montgomery

Book Covers, Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

L.M. Montgomery was a Canadian author who wrote works that have been read by millions the world over. She was a prolific writer throughout her lifetime, penning over 20 books, including fictional novels, a volume of poetry, and short story collections. She also wrote a book of essays with collaborating authors. L.M. Montgomery achieved her greatest popular success in creating the character Anne Shirley of the Anne of Green Gables series.

L.M. Montgomery's bibliography of works published during her lifetime is listed below:

L.M. Montgomery's Publications
Date
Anne of Green Gables 1908
Anne of Avonlea1909
Kilmeny of the Orchard1910
The Story Girl1911
Chronicles of Avonlea1912
The Golden Road1913
Anne of the Island 1915
The Watchman and Other Poems   1916
Anne's House of Dreams 1917
Rainbow Valley 1919
Further Chronicles of Avonlea1920
Rilla of Ingleside 1921
Emily of New Moon1923
Emily Climbs1925
The Blue Castle1926
Emily's Quest1927
Magic for Marigold1929
A Tangled Web1931
Pat of Silver Bush1933
Courageous Women   
(Essays written with Marian Keith
and Mabel Burns McKinley)
1934
Mistress Pat1935
Anne of Windy Poplars1936
Jane of Lantern Hill1937
Anne of Ingleside1939


Created September 1, 1999. Re-posted online January 7, 2022. Last updated January 7, 2022.

April 30, 2021

The Road to Yesterday

The Road to Yesterday by L.M. Montgomery


The Road to Yesterday
by L.M. Montgomery was published in 1974. L.M. Montgomery had originally penned this book under the title The Blythes are Quoted, but the book was not published during her lifetime. After L.M. Montgomery's death, her manuscript was discovered by her son, Dr. Stuart MacDonald. The original manuscript for The Blythes are Quoted was divided into two parts taking place before and after World War I. Each part was composed of short stories interspersed with narratives of evenings in Anne and Gilbert Blythe's household with the Blythe family listening to Anne's poems.

In preparing The Road to Yesterday for publication, the narrative sections were removed along with all but one of the poems. The sequence of the short stories was reorganized. All of the stories included in The Road to Yesterday mention members of the Blythe family.

The Road to Yesterday includes the poem "Canadian Twilight" and 14 short stories, which are listed below:

"Canadian Twilight" (poem)
"An Afternoon with Mr. Jenkins"
"Retribution"
"The Twins Pretend"
"Fancy's Fool"
"A Dream Come True"
"Penelope Struts her Theories"
"The Reconciliation"
"The Cheated Child"
"Fool's Errand"
"The Pot and the Kettle"
"Here Comes the Bride"
"Brothers Beware"
"The Road to Yesterday"
"A Commonplace Woman"


Purchase and read The Road to Yesterday:

The Road to Yesterday by L.M. Montgomery


Created July 25, 2002. Re-posted online April 30, 2021. Last updated April 30, 2021.