Poem for November

November

by Thomas Hood

No sun--no moon!

No morn--no noon!

No dawn--no dusk--no proper time of day--

No sky--no earthly view--

No distance looking blue--

No road--no street--

No "t'other side the way"--

No end to any Row--

No indications where the Crescents go--

No top to any steeple--

No recognitions of familiar people--

No courtesies for showing 'em--

No knowing 'em!

No mail--no post--

No news from any foreign coast--

No park--no ring--no afternoon gentility--

No company--no nobility--

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,

No comfortable feel in any member--

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds,

November!

Thomas Hood was a nineteenth century British humorist and poet.  He left school at an early age and was primarily self-taught.  He was associated with the London magazine and later the Athenaeum, started in 1828 by James Silk Buckingham, where he was a regular contributor for the rest of his life.