The Song of the Aspen Tree
Up in the wild untamed mountains,
Where bears and moose run free,
Snowflakes fell, all year long,
On the leaf of the aspen tree.

And amid the flurries and blustery gales,
Was a small, sheltered glen,
Whose trees were alive with souls and thoughts,
And would come out every now and then.

One tree on the outside edge,
Held the spirit of a young girl,
And she would come out and play her fiddle,
And dance around and twirl.

She was frail and thin, with a delicate frame,
And long, straight black hair,
And those who have seen her say that the snow,
Was the color of her skin so fair.

She is known by one name to the humans who've seen her,
Because of the tree she resides in,
Of pale gray luster and magical shine,
She is known by the name: Aspen.

She ran, and jumped, and played, and danced,
Every night, all night long,
To the same haunting melody every time,
A mysterious, magical song:

Ut cum luna crescere, cum ebur cortice,
I sing this song about me,
Ego saltare ad carmen intra,
The song of the aspen tree.

One day a young man came into her woods,
To search for the young girl he'd heard of,
When he heard a song drift through the wooded night,
And instantly fell in love.

He followed the music for hours on end,
Though it was dark and he could not see,
He actually began to sing along,
To the song of the aspen tree.

Ut cum luna crescere, cum ebur cortice,
I sing this song about me,
Ego saltare ad carmen intra,
The song of the aspen tree.

Until finally he came to a snowy clearing,
Where he saw before his eyes,
Aspen playing and dancing to the song that he'd heard,
And he cried, even though a man never cries.

Her hair whipped around her in passionate waves,
Her fingers were a blur on the bow,
He was mesmerized by her beautiful stance,
And he wanted her as his own.

When she looked up and saw him watching her,
She immediately felt drawn to the man,
So she set her bow in the cold icy snow,
And they walked towards each other and...

He grabbed her hands and pulled her close,
And she did not turn away,
And they pledged their love to each other,
In the prescence of the moon and Milky Way.

For months after, they met in secret,
She would call to him upon the breeze,
He would answer by singing her song,
And they would meet in the aspen trees.

She would sing to him from dusk to dawn each night,
And they would dance through the forest together,
He would sing along in his rich, deep, tenor voice,
And they'd end with a kiss as light as a feather.

But the songs of the trees aren't meant for our ears,
Because they are the songs in their souls,
And hold all the magic of the trees in their words,
And with every word, takes its toll.

And whenever he sang along to her song,
Looking deep into her eyes,
Two lovers in love in the moonlight together,
He drove towards his dismal demise.

One night while they were singing together,
The man turned ghostly pale,
And he stood upright, straight and tall,
Aspen cried and let out a wail.

For together they had sung him into a tree,
To stay forever more,
Trapped in his wooden coffin of song,
With no way out, no window or door.

Still every night to this day Aspen sings,
But instead of dancing around,
She sits and plays to her true loves tree,
So he may still hear the sound.

Ut cum luna crescere, cum ebur cortice,
Are you thinking of me?
Ita quod amor amatur inclusum,
The song of the aspen tree.