Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers.

Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Carl Sandburg's poem Under the Harvest Moon

3 Comments

  1. Lyndsay says:

    To me the poem is all about love. The harvest moon is brings a bright light to the night. This night symbolizes the death of love. But the light from the harvest moon symbolizes remembrance. Yes, you are sad and weak because of this lack of love, but the death of it brings you memories that will last a lifetime. The second stanza is about the period of time between the sunset and the harvest moon called dusk. It is about the changing of season from summer to fall. The leaves are dying, but there is beauty within this death. Love, so gentle, swoops in an reminds you of a happier time. With the death of summer, a beautious and colorful fall is created. This fall is a metaphor for memories. The feeling of love is so unanswerable. It brings about questions that one can never seem to answer. But, these questions are beautiful. They are a part of being in love.

  2. Bob the builder says:

    Very effective and takes you down a path you’ve never been before

  3. vj says:

    the content of the poem is very beautiful. it is really soothing for any kind of people. it is very imaginative. 😉

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