"I will return in autumn," so I said,
"To see these greening maples crown this hill
With a flaming lei." But always when the chill
Fall days returned as time too swiftly sped,
I was not free so I could not fulfill
The vow I made. My heart in mute lament
Longed for wind-music, wild and eloquent,
While echelons of geese displayed their skill.
I could not be denied the joy-ascent
To my bright hilltop when the autumn came.
My spirit, country-bred, I could not tame
To city confines yet I know content;
For though the autumn calls me still the same,
My heart has built a hill where maples flame.
