It was on a sallow night so sweet
That you and I so surely did meet.
We went up the boughs the tree nearby,
So out of breath we felt we'd die.
Then you and I reached the top,
Cov'red in leaves red and gold,
And peered through its branches at one another,
No longer did we feel so old.
Those were children's days, so long ago;
I forgot them soon among the snow.
The powder that set on the ground,
The smell of firewood,
The light we danced to on
Winter's Eve.
You had given me your hand,
I took yours so quick,
You said, "Once around the tree!"
And I said nothing.
It was three years later,
When we climbed a tree in summer,
That you turned to me.
"The leaves are green this time."
But I couldn't remember.
And I said nothing.
Five years more passed,
We walked the river.
Sweet Addie slept in her crib,
You and I on an adventure in the middle of
September.
"The leaves are changing this time."
But I still didn't remember.
And I said nothing.
Twenty years more,
Three children seasoned and grown,
You stared out the window.
"The leaves are brown this time."
And I said nothing.
It was ten years later that I knew,
After many hardships you put me through;
And this time I turned to you, and said,
"The leaves are red and gold again."
If only you could see them.