Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The Goldenrod is Yellow....

When I was a kid, we sang a song that has partially stayed with me all these years: "The goldenrod is yellow, the corn is turning brown...." Google, bless its little search engine heart, found the source for me, "September" by Helen Hunt Jackson (of Ramona fame, I believe).

It's a cool poem--goes on much longer than I'm sure we learned. And the ending:
One day of one September
I never can forget.
So what happened on that one day? She doesn't say. It's kind of an early "Ode to Billy Joe" thing, I guess.

I don't have anything more than this to talk about. Just find the poem and read it. Let September wash over you. It's a great month to make memories, whether you're doing something momentous or just simply walking to the mailbox on a golden afternoon.

One day of one September
I never can forget.

3 comments:

Debby Mayne said...

Isn't it funny how songs can stay with you and bring back a flood of memories when you hear them? I grew up in a military family (Yes, I'm a brat!), so we didn't stay in one town very long. When I hear certain "oldies," I can remember where I lived and sometimes even the specific year and place where I first heard it.

Kacie said...

The leaves are deeply yellow
having fallen to the ground,
the sky is gray with winter
'cuz he's still hanging round.

The cold wind whips and dips
sprinkling us with rain,
the rain that simply never stops
(and may never stop again).

One day in September--
just one you understand,
I'd love to see the sun sneak out
to shine across the land.

--the perpetually cold girl in Alaska, the place that summer skipped this year

Janet Spaeth said...

Debby, isn't that the truth? When I hear "The goldenrod is yellow," I'm immediately in 2nd grade again, wearing a plaid dress and standing stiffly in a line on those risers in the school. Serious stuff, these songs when you're seven years old....

Kacie, once again your poetic soul simply astounds me. I'll send you a basket of goldenrod and milkweed and late-summer grasshoppers and dragonflies. I'll leave out the yellowjackets, since one stung me TWICE under my arm this week.

I love this time of year. Too bad it's always RAINING so I can't actually do anything....