Lovers’ vows

It’s a couple of days too late for this to be a Valentine.

Beneath the tree (Lovers’ vows)

An apple tree beside the sea,
It grows for you and grows for me,
And, in the shade, beneath the tree,
A touch for you, a kiss for me.

We whisper what all lovers say,
At the first dawn of the first day:
Swear, you and me, beneath the tree,
Shall be, and be, and be, and be.

Swear I the stem and you the shoot,
Swear you the leaf and I the root,
And I the flower and you the fruit.
Swear you the singer, I the song,
This the right, the world the wrong;
They the weak, and we the strong.

And yet, and yet,
Lest we forget, lest we forget:
The tide will rise, the tide will fall,
And words will halt, and words will stall,
The leaves from off the tree will fall.
The light will fail, the day will fade,
No matter promises are made.
By time itself we are betrayed.

In our beginning is our end.
Our little stock of time we spend
So carelessly, beneath the tree.
A kiss for you, a touch for me.

And so the moments slip away.
All will be lost. Except this day
Will stay, and stay, and stay, and stay.
And you and me, beneath the tree,
Shall be, and be, and be, and be.