Summary of the poem "Day in Autumn" by Rainer Maria Rilke

In the poem, Day in Autumn, Rilke addresses the Lord, relaying that when the summer is finished, one must allow the shadows from the sun to lengthen upon sundials and the harsher winds to blow in the fields. The last produce of fruit is to be caressed and cared for, so it becomes round and healthy. Two more days of gentle heat and light are to be cast upon it, to turn it golden with ripeness. With grapes, this will bring sweetness to wine.

Those who are homeless at this point in time will not construct somewhere to stay, according to Rilke, and those who live by themselves will live on, arising to read a bit, write letters that are long in length, and to wander the streets in the city, while the leaves of wild trees begin to loosen.