| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | II. “’T is Autumn, and my steps have led me far” | | By John Howard Bryant (1807–1902) |
| | | ’T IS Autumn, and my steps have led me far | |
| To a wild hill, that overlooks a land | |
| Wide-spread and beautiful. A single star | |
| Sparkles new-set in heaven. O’er its bright sand | |
| The streamlet slides with mellow tones away. | 5 |
| The west is crimson with retiring day; | |
| And the north gleams with its own native light. | |
| Below, in autumn green, the meadows lie, | |
| And through green banks the river wanders by, | |
| And the wide woods with autumn hues are bright,— | 10 |
| Bright, but of fading brightness!—soon is past | |
| That dreamlike glory of the painted wood: | |
| And pitiless decay o’ertakes, as fast, | |
| The pride of men, the beauteous, great, and good. | | | | |
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