this permitted we have grace to caper
from dusk to dawn as the leaves redly fall
marking the season with a noble ball
each bright dancer bearing amber taper
notes now shining on the golden paper
make our demands seem piteously small
as watchers wonder why we had the gall
to think our hottest wishes more than vapour
now time must move in tandem with the sun
our hearts obey an older slower law
while in their nests the summer birds still wait
far to the south where warmth is never done
but nature rules with equally harsh claw
a younger person wonders at his fate
