The autumn leaves are turning gold,
The evening skies grow grey.
The winds are carrying stories old,
Of things we let slip away.

I wonder if you think of me,
As passing seasons do.
Or if the roads that set you free,
Have taken you from view.

And let the winter find its way,
Through every distant town.
Perhaps the stars will have their say,
Before the snow comes down.

We had the sun, we had the rain,
And endless skies above.
We built our castles out of days,
And filled them up with love.

You held my hand through troubled skies,
You tried to make things right.
I failed to see the love behind,
Your patience through the night.

We laughed at things that mattered not,
And dreamed of things unknown.
I never knew the precious lot,
Of what I'd been shown.

You reached for me a thousand times,
I turned my face away.
You offered warmth, I answered cold,
And let the darkness stay.

You tried to pull me from the deep,
While I refused to see.
I pushed away the hands that reached,
And called it being free.

You gave me more than I could know,
When I could barely stand.
I watched the only light I had,
Slip slowly from my hands.

Oh, how the colder evenings bring,
The truth I couldn't see.
The heart that tried to shelter me,
Was standing next to me.

I've walked the roads we used to take,
And heard our old songs play.
I've met the ghosts of my mistakes,
At every break of day.

I cannot ask the years to turn,
Or make the past undone.
Some lessons come too late to learn,
When all is said and done.

I've carried more than words can hold,
And swallowed every tear.
If only I had known back then,
What I have learnt this year.

But I am not the one I was,
Nor bound to who I've been.
I've learnt to face the things I caused,
And all that lay within.

I've gathered words I once concealed,
And found the strength to write.
Not asking you to make me whole,
Just hoping you might.

No grand confession can repay,
The kindness that you gave.
But I must find the words someday,
Before they reach the grave.

And as the nights grow cold and still,
And frost begins to show.
I send a wish across the hills,
Where only you might go.

For who can tell what years remain,
What roads we'll walk apart.
How many winters shall we see,
Before the final dark?

Perhaps the world will keep us far,
Perhaps we'll never know.
Perhaps this is the final time,
Our paths could cross in snow.

So let the rooftops turn to white,
Let every bell ring clear.
And let the stars preserve one night,
To bring your footsteps near.

If just one flake should touch your hand,
And melt before your eyes.
May it carry what I couldn't say,
Beneath those winter skies.

I do not ask that you return,
Or that the past be new.
I only hope that somewhere still,
There is a road to you.

The candles burn, the heavens wait,
The trees stand bare and slow.
And somewhere at the edge of fate,
A little light may glow.

No promise made, no vow to keep,
No debt that you must owe.
Just one last wish I dare to leave,
Beneath the falling snow.

And if our paths should cross once more,
I'll know what I could not then.
The hands that knocked upon my door,
Were those of my best friend.