Hello and welcome back to the daily poem here in the Close Rees podcast. I'm David Kern.

It's October, which means that it is the season for John Keats. Keith was actually born in October

towards the end of the month, on Halloween actually. Born Born in 1795, and he died in 1821.

And I've read a couple of poems on this show by him before.

But today I'm going to read the poem that is most anthologized.

His poem is that is most anthologized,

but also one of the most anthologized poems ever written in English.

And that poem is called To Autumn.

It's a three ststands a poem,

each stanza has 11 lines. And Keats believed Autumn to be his season, as probably many people do who were born during the fall. This poem was composed in 1819 and published in 1820.

It was written when he was just 23,

the second to last fall that he would see during his life.

And it's just further evidence of the kind of genius he was

and the kind of genius we lost when he died at age 25.

This is To Autumn by John Keats. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom

friend of the maturing sun, conspiring with him how to load and bless with fruit the vines

that round the thatch eaves run, to bend with apples the mossed cottage trees, and fill all fruit with ripeness to the core.

To swell the gourd and plump the hazel shells with a sweet kernel.

To set budding more and still more later flowers for the bees

until they think warm days will never cease, for summer has o'er brimmed their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

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