poetry

7 Poems to Help You Begin Again This Fall

Autumn can come with a lot of mixed feelings. On one hand, summer is over, but on the other, the leaves are changing, cozy sweaters are coming back out, and the holidays are right around the corner.

But in reality, we all know our feelings about fall are a lot more complicated than these simple facts. There's something oddly spiritual about watching the world slowly go to sleep, something profound in the increasingly crisp air. If you've ever felt like fall is a time of restlessness and upheaval, you aren't alone. Many cultures throughout history have acknowledged autumn as a time of rebirth and reevaluation. Consequently, poets are prone to latching onto the sacred nature of fall and turning it into beautiful words.

Here are 7 poems to help you begin again this fall.

"The Double Image" by Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton's poetry is as beautiful as her life was sad, and "The Double Image" exemplifies both of these truths. The narrator first places us in a Massachusetts autumn before going back in time through the life of the young daughter, ultimately returning to the present autumn again. It is, in many ways, a poem about new beginnings and slow-healing sorrows. Perhaps, this fall, you can borrow some of the hope for a rebirth that Sexton could never quite realize in her life the way she could in her poetry.

Read the full poem here.

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