Song of Scarlet
The black-alder berries are thick this year,
(It’s going to be cold);
Their scarlet trinkets, their necklaces bold
Hang on the shivering wind-swept year,
(It’s going to be cold).
Now, the Commons are bare and the leaves whirl around,
(It’s going to be cold);
Like little brown sparrows flicked over the around
(It’s going to be cold);
But the black alder-berries like rubies embeaded
String out on the heath where the milkweed has seeded,
(It’s going to be cold).
Now the wind feels the blind and the roads look severe,
(It’s going to be cold);
And the locust tree’s horned pods rattle and shake,
And the small bony branches grow brittle and break...
But vitality lingers in reindeer moss,
And near the holm holly the thorn-berries toss,
The bright alder-berries gleam saucy and bold,
Pile up your wood-fires—who cares if it’s cold?