Review of "Elders" by Louise Bogan

"Elders" by Louise Bogan (1897 - 1970) was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on August 11, 2013.     It is a nice poem about the life cycle of the elder tree and a metaphor for the changing of the seasons.  There may be deeper meaning for the poet personally, as the elder tree was sacred to the druids, and the poet's name means "bog" in Gaelic.

I think I have seen these elder berries (pictured) growing wild in parks near my home in Kansas.  According to www.druidry.org, they are edible and may be used for jams and jellies.  Some say they have medicinal properties.  However, they look much like poke berries, which I understand are deadly poison, so I'm not going to take any chances picking and eating them.