View this email on a browser Forward to a friend September 30, 2018   A September Night   George Marion McClellan

The full September moon sheds floods of light, And all the bayou's face is gemmed with stars, Save where are dropped fantastic shadows down From sycamores and moss-hung cypress trees. With slumberous sound the waters half asleep Creep on and on their way, 'twixt rankish reeds, Through marsh and lowlands stretching to the Gulf. Begirt with cotton fields, Anguilla sits Half bird-like, dreaming on her Summer nest. Amid her spreading figs and roses, still In bloom with all their Spring and Summer hues, Pomegranates hang with dapple cheeks full ripe, And over all the town a dreamy haze Drops down. The great plantations, stretching far Away, are plains of cotton, downy white. O, glorious is this night of joyous sounds; Too full for sleep. Aromas wild and sweet, From muscadine, late blooming jessamine, And roses, all the heavy air suffuse. Faint bellows from the alligators come From swamps afar, where sluggish lagoons give To them a peaceful home. The katydids Make ceaseless cries. Ten thousand insects' wings Stir in the moonlight haze and joyous shouts Of Negro song and mirth awake hard by The cabin dance. O, glorious is this night! The Summer sweetness fills my heart with songs, I can not sing, with loves I can not speak.                This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   "A September Night" was published in The Path of Dreams (J. P. Morton, 1916).   George Marion McClellan was born on September 29, 1860, in Belfast, Tennessee. He is the author of two poetry collections: The Path of Dreams (J. P. Morton, 1916) and Poems (A. M. E. Church Sunday School Union, 1896). He died in 1934. Poetry by McClellan   The Path of Dreams (Forgotten Books, 2018) "September" by Helen Hunt Jackson "Letter" by Victor Hugo "At the Equinox" by Arthur Sze September Guest Editor: Rigoberto González   Thanks to Rigoberto González, author of Unpeopled Eden (Four Way Books, 2013), who curated Poem-a-Day this month. Read more about González and our guest editors for the year. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038