'Neath an Oak Tree

Dust motes float through the mild autumn air
Drifting in the lazy light, which illuminates two figures there
Tripping through the flaxen leaves, light takes a golden tone
Together ‘neath the oak tree, but sitting both alone

He slouches forward on the cracked stonewall
Staring at his feet, he’s not hearing her at all
Disbelieving of the words that now fall upon his ears
Unseen by her cold eyes, his begin to fill with tears

Disheveled chestnut hair shades his downcast face
Hiding his true pain, so she won’t see his disgrace
Flowing softly from their spring, his tears start to grow
Twin jewels of liquid sorrow fall, to stain the earth below

He covers up the traces; feels that he should raise his head
Gazing not at fallen leaves, but at her face instead
Trying to lift his gaze and stare into her eyes
Yet powerless do so, knowing he’ll find only lies

Russet stalks of tall wheat bend in sudden icy blast
Promising of winter, it shall arrive at last
Shivering, she sits apart; he won’t offer her his warmth
She knows then she is all alone, with none but her own strength

He’s no longer thinking of her, but of a distant youth
Trusting was so easy then, yet now so hard to do
Remembering times when love, when life was shared
It seems so long ago now, a time when she too, cared

Or was it all deception, false and loveless all along?
Asking himself vainly, where it was that he’d gone wrong
Seeking for the answers that he knows will never come
There is no explanation for this evil that she’s done

Above in heaven’s vaults of blue, patched with passing clouds
Crying falcons wheel and soar, far above the ground
Sinking slowly lower, the sun begins to fade
And all the world beneath it adopts a crimson shade

The oak tree casts a shadow upon the lonely pair
Darkening the orchard wall, reflecting his despair
Wondering how it came to this, the fatal strike
How can she understand the pain she causes him tonight?

She seems so close beside him, but oh so far away
Hoping against hope she will love again one day
Realizing that there will never be a time or place
When he could offer her his heart, bestow a second chance

In silence she remains there, and waits for him to speak
Shattering this stillness that holds her task complete
Knowing not what he will say, what it is he’ll tell her
A heart too blind to see the truth, that silence is his answer