When roses cease to bloom, dear
When roses cease to bloom, dear
and violets are done,
When bumblebees in solemn flight
Have passed beyond the sun,
The hand that paused to gather
Upon this summer's day
Will idle lie, in Auburn.--
Then take my flower, pray!
―Emily Dickinson
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Auburn, proper n. [OFr < L. alburnus, nearly white; see auburn, adj.]
Autumn; Fall; season when leaves change color and fall off; [word play; see auburn, adj.] red, brown, or gold-colored leaves; [fig.] death; grave site; [word play] Mount Auburn cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts (see Emily Dickinson letters); allusion to a 1770 poem "Deserted Village" by Oliver Goldsmith: "Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain."
