Six Quatrains

by Ursula K. Le Guin

AUTUMN

gold of amber

red of ember

brown of umber

all September

MCCOY CREEK

Over the bright shallows

now no flights of swallows.

Leaves of the sheltering willow

dangle thin and yellow.

OCTOBER

At four in the morning the west wind

moved in the leaves of the beech tree

with a long rush and patter of water,

first wave of the dark tide coming in.

SOLSTICE

On the longest night of all the year

in the forests up the hill,

the little owl spoke soft and clear

to bid the night be longer still.

THE WINDS OF MAY

are soft and restless

in their leafy garments

that rustle and sway

making every moment movement.

HAIL

The dogwood cowered under the thunder

and the lilacs burned like light itself

against the storm-black sky until the hail

whitened the grass with petals.

“Six Quatrains” by Ursula K. Le Guin

Used by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Copyright © 2018

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