491
See the Leaves Around Us Falling
Verse 1
See the leaves around us falling,
Dry and withered to the ground;
Thus to thoughtless mortals calling,
In a sad and solemn sound:
Dry and withered to the ground;
Thus to thoughtless mortals calling,
In a sad and solemn sound:
Verse 2
"Youth on length of days presuming,
Who the paths of pleasure tread,
View us, late in beauty blooming,
Numbered now among the dead."
Who the paths of pleasure tread,
View us, late in beauty blooming,
Numbered now among the dead."
Verse 3
"Yearly in our course appearing,
Messengers of shortest stay,
Thus we preach in mortal hearing —
Ye, like us, shall pass away."
Messengers of shortest stay,
Thus we preach in mortal hearing —
Ye, like us, shall pass away."
A meditation on autumn and the transience of life, typical of Watts' contemplative hymns.