Recent Songs: The Princess Tree

The Princess Tree


Remember when we were other people
Kissing beneath the princess tree?
There was nothing that could save them
From becoming like sky and sea
Your honey, now turned to wine
Still, it’s too sweet for my tastes
I think that I would trade the flowers
For a cool autumn day

All the magnolias, all the azaleas
All the poplars and dogwoods
I am no stranger to their beauty
But let me be misunderstood
I’ve watched petals fall from roses
But their thorns I could not shake
Stung now, I would trade the flowers
For a cool autumn day

Persephone, I have loved you
And I miss you when you’re away
But I fear that solitude suits me
I’d make your freedom another cage
Lady Demeter, I can’t face you
Though I wish that you would stay
Knowing I would trade the flowers
For a cool autumn day

Yes, I received my invitation
Though I’ve been slow to reply
For I dread to disappoint you
To think my words might make you cry
But I cannot bare the climate
The ceremony I’d spoil from pain
You know that I would trade the flowers
For a cool autumn day

Give me marble, give me granite
Give me smooth river stones
All the maenads have finally left me
In a bed of antlers, laid my bones
The mirth I’d once sought in whimsy
I’m too sober now to crave
Of late I would trade the flowers
For a cool autumn day

“The songs of Spring? Ay where are they?”
Ask someone driven to play
You know that I would trade the flowers
For a cool autumn day
“The songs of Spring? Ay where are they?”
Ask a heart less weak and gray
Someone that wouldn’t trade the flowers
For a cool autumn day
 

September 2, 2016