The Speaker

The poem is told from the first-person perspective of a speaker who seeks to deepen her presence in the world. Taking inspiration from the autumn landscape in front of her, the speaker aspires to be a wiser and calmer version of herself. She chooses to be outside despite the rain in order to commune with nature. The "tug of autumn" motivates the speaker to promote well-being in others.

The Browning Oaks

The oak trees in this poem are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves annually. The breakdown of chlorophyll leaves the trees exhibiting brown pigments. In the poem, the leaves "languish from the trees" as the tug of autumn prompts them to lose their leaves. The speaker recognizes a holiness in the oak trees. This can be seen when she calls them a "cathedral" (2).

What Holds Us

The speaker declares at the end of the poem that...