Your Daily Poem

This site exists for one purpose only: to help dispel the ugly and absolutely untrue myth that poetry is boring. Granted, a lot of poetry is boring, but you won't find it here. At Your Daily Poem, you'll find poetry that is touching, funny, provocative, inspiring, uplifting, and surprising. It may punch you in the gut, it may bring tears to your eyes, it may make you laugh out loud, but it most assuredly will not bore you! Visit our home page every day to see a different poem.

Poetry on YDP—by poets living and long dead, famous to completely unknown--is specially selected for accessibility and appeal. Thanks so much for visiting—and remember: a poem a day keeps the doldrums away!

Fourth Autumn
by
Scott Owens

This November Sawyer stands
in a shower of leaves, first
the ones falling, then those
the blower sprays her with. Defiant,
joyful, unafraid of noise
or getting lost in any storm,
she lies down, begs to be buried
beneath the trappings of decay,
oblivious to suggestion or symbol.
It's so far she has come from three
autumns ago, sitting in a backpack
while I raked leaves into piles,
or two years ago riding in the wheelbarrow
between dumping and filling up,
or even last year's first jumping
into massive piles of oak and maple.
And now, while she is unconcerned
with irony, I can't escape it myself,
such joy, such flouting in the face of death.

This poem first appeared in Innisfree Poetry Review.
Used here with the author's permission.

Scott Owens is the author of 25 collections of poetry and the recipient of numerous awards. Professor of Poetry at Lenoir Rhyne University and former editor of two poetry journals, he is the founder of Poetry Hickory, a monthly reading series. Scott's newest collection is The Song Is Why We Sing. He lives in Hickory, North Carolina, where he owns and operates Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse and Gallery.Learn more about Scott here.

Lori Levy:
Beautiful.
Posted 11/03/2026 11:26 AM

Glen Sorestad:
A very moving poem to start my day. Thanks, Scott. I love the win perspectives unveiled, the ironic close.
Posted 11/03/2011 10:00 AM

KevinArnold:
Yes, flouting is just the right word, found in few poems. 'Such flouting in the face of death.' Yes, and the passage of time is handled well in this poem.
Posted 11/03/2011 09:40 AM

dotief@comcast.net:
Powerful!
Posted 11/03/2011 09:20 AM

karenpaulholmes:
A nice surprise to find a poem by Scott here this morning. He captures the moment and the way parents think.
Posted 11/03/2011 08:13 AM

LisaV:
What a great poem. Capturing two perspectives so eloquently: the child and the adult on a continuum. Thank you for this insight.
Posted 11/03/2011 06:29 AM

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