1. Now it played like a dream turning real enough
In the fall on a late afternoon.
First there was nothing where
Suddenly she appeared;
She and her look that excited were new.
Her fingers she pressed at her waist and
Her eyes searched the distance, not you.
And all that she was to see
Stood there so easily,
How she was easy for you to get used to!
Yes, it was all found in that place --
It was there in her pose,
In the colors she chose,
In the profile outline of her face,
In the profile of her face.
2. What made it clear she was one of a kind?
How she was young and her face unexplored,
And she was ready to
Look more than beautiful,
Her eyes the color of sky she was turning toward.
She made the minutes seem endless and vague,
And you said that somehow you'd capture that look,
And carry it home, then
To picture it when alone
And bring it back like a page from a book.
You were watching a dream taking shape,
Saw its features outlined
In the yellow sunshine,
In the chance silhouette of her face,
In the profile of her face.
3. Now there was restlessness under your beauty that day,
Your gaze followed no one, it's so.
But your eyes couldn't hide
For as much as they tried
What your heart still did not fully know.
As the narrow light started to fading
And your hair turning red with the sun,
And the shadows like lace
Played across your sweet face,
Then as you walked away, you were gone.
And nothing else dared to replace
Your skin soft as light,
Your outline so slight
Or the profile turn of your face,
The profile of your face.
4. I've gone on my way since that day came along,
Never knowing when to call it enough.
For her image has stayed on,
Only barely to fade, and
For years she was who I thought of.
What was there at last to hold on to?
Sure, the light and the look played a part.
But at the end of each day,
How much was there to say,
Tell me, what made forgetting so hard?
Yes, I've returned to the fall, to the light and the place,
But from her forehead to chin,
Where her outline had been,
Gone's the profile I knew of her face,
The profile of her face.