“Like a joy on the heart of a sorrow,”

The poet begins by drawing a vivid comparison between joy and sorrow. The simile suggests that the sunset is like a moment of joy that pierces through the heaviness of sorrow.

“The sunset hangs on a cloud;”

Describing the sunset as hanging on a cloud adds a visual element, creating an image of the sun’s descent and its reflection on the cloud.

“A golden storm of glittering sheaves,”

The poet employs vibrant imagery to depict the autumn scene. The golden storm refers to the falling leaves, and “glittering sheaves” suggests the beauty and abundance of these leaves.

“Of fair and frail and fluttering leaves,”

The leaves are characterized as fair, frail, and fluttering, emphasizing their delicate and transient nature. This line contributes to the overall image of the leaves falling in the autumn wind.

“The wild wind blows in a cloud.”

The wind is personified as wild, and it is blowing in a cloud of leaves. This line reinforces the idea of a storm of leaves, suggesting both the beauty and the chaos of the autumn scene.

“Hark to a voice that is calling”

The poet introduces an auditory element, asking the reader to listen. The voice being referred to is later revealed to be the voice of the wind, adding a mystical and natural quality to the scene.

“To my heart in the voice of the wind:”

The wind’s voice is not just a natural sound but is intimately connected to the speaker’s heart. This suggests a personal and emotional resonance with the autumn scene.

“My heart is weary and sad and alone,”

The speaker reveals the emotional state of their heart, using a tricolon to emphasize weariness, sadness, and loneliness. This contrasts with the earlier image of joy, indicating a shift in mood.

“For its dreams like the fluttering leaves have gone,”

The speaker likens their dreams to the fluttering leaves, suggesting that dreams, like the falling leaves in autumn, have been lost or have faded away.

“And why should I stay behind?”

The poem concludes with a rhetorical question, expressing a sense of urgency and a desire not to linger in the past. The speaker contemplates moving forward despite the losses, questioning the purpose of staying behind in sorrow.