Illustration of man using scythe, 1983.
“‘He was one of the first modern Canadian poets’, said Lee, ‘to closely examine rural life.’”
- John B. Lee, quoted in The Windsor Star. Author: Ted Shaw, Entertainment Writer. Section: "Entertainment". Windsor, Ont.: May 14, 1993, pg C.1.
Autumn Clouds
Here on the quiet upland
Among the withered corn
Wondering I stand:
Beauty again is born.
The thin light melts and yields,
The torn stalks shiver;
On near and far-off fields
I see pale gold, a river
That floats the fences, trees,
Golden-rod, and tarnished grasses,
A lift of brown like bees—
Submerges all, and passes
Leaving all no less unspent,
Nor more lonely. And I find,
Long lost, the trees’ assent
To sunlight and to wind.
Blenheim, Ontario
(After Exile, page 96)