As I stood denuded br At the crossroads br With hands raised upward, br Eternity descended unto my open palms br With the silence of a benediction br Of my life's last Autumn. br br In the mellowed stillness of the wilderness br The last skinny leaf of an ancient oak br Fluttered silently br And nose-dived br Into the icy-ground of the br Ultimate harbinger. br br The storm of argument br Between the musician and the lyricist br As to what music and diction br Would constitute my dirge, br Got settled smoothly like the leafy-sediments br On the bottom of a tea cup.br br R.