Today, as I rode by, br I saw the brown leaves dropping from their tree br In a still afternoon, br When no wind whirled them whistling to the sky, br But thickly, silently, br They fell, like snowflakes wiping out the noon; br And wandered slowly thence br For thinking of a gallant multitude br Which now all withering lay, br Slain by no wind of age or pestilence, br But in their beauty strewed br Like snowflakes falling on the Flemish clay.