It's like like clockwork: every year in late October or early November, I begin receiving requests to reprint a certain poem -- a poem which is not mine! Said poem (quoted below) was erroneously attributed to me online sometime in 2005 or before, and now appears all over the internet with my name attached, including on Pinterest and Goodreads...I've responded to many who have posted it with this erroneous credit, but new instances continue to crop up. It's a lovely poem and one I would be more than happy to claim as my own -- HOWEVER, it was written by the well-known and well-loved Elizabeth Coatsworth! I am posting this in a desire to make sure that the true author receives credit, and in hopes that eventually the wrong attributions will cease. Additionally, I will offer a reward (TBD) to the first person who can find out and document where and when it was first published.
NOVEMBER, by Elizabeth Coatsworth
November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.
With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.
The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.