The sweep of fair, the gentle chill

Spreads soft across the world;

A changing in the air.

The spring faded, the flowers waned,

The rule of thrilling stare.

 

In the fading of the green,

In the loss of the serene,

In the sight of what has been,

In the cease of life with ease,

In the vanishing of warm breeze,

Here the winter comes.

 

The rime of white, the cover of ice

Spreads soft across the world;

A moonlit winter’s night.

The summer gone, the sun long set,

The rule of silver light.

 

In the shadow of the sun,

In the song of battles won,

In the chill of days long done,

In the life now passed away,

In the ending of the day,

Here the winter comes.

 

The cold of grey, the clouded sky

Spreads soft across the world;

A storm of winter’s day.

The autumn through, leaves long fallen;

The rule of gale’s way.

 

In the freezing of the ice,

In the paying of the price,

In the darkness of life’s sacrifice,

In the tune of year’s that fly,

In the endless time gone by—

Here the winter comes.

 

The shade of cool, the hazard eclipse

Spreads soft across the world;

A time of bells that toll.

The winter strong, the frost in full;

The rule of every soul.

 

In the death of all that’s bright,

In the memory of light,

In the despair of endless night,

In the push through all the strife,

In the promise of new life—

Here the winter comes.

 

And in the brightness through the rain,

In the strength through lingering pain,

In the bleakness finally slain,

In the power of what’s warm,

In the triumph over storm—-

Summer comes again.