THE TAMARACK
Amongthe evergreens I growAll summer long—they do not know—I look so much as if I wereAn honest upright kind of fir.I even think they envy me,My fronds show such a filigreeOf needlework, all interlaced—They do not know I’m double-faced.I am as straight as any lanceAnd so I win their confidence;I know their inmost secret things,I hear their softest murmurings,I listen and maintain my mien—They think I am an evergreen!But when the summer goes,October knows! October knows!For then my needles turn to gold,I stand a traitor to the fold,I am the turncoat of the pack—The yellow-flaming tamarack!I hoist my shining staff,I give them all the laugh,Until my golden needles dropAnd sober up. I’ve had my fling—Next springWhen I am seenAgain, I’ll be an evergreen!
Amongthe evergreens I growAll summer long—they do not know—I look so much as if I wereAn honest upright kind of fir.I even think they envy me,My fronds show such a filigreeOf needlework, all interlaced—They do not know I’m double-faced.I am as straight as any lanceAnd so I win their confidence;I know their inmost secret things,I hear their softest murmurings,I listen and maintain my mien—They think I am an evergreen!But when the summer goes,October knows! October knows!For then my needles turn to gold,I stand a traitor to the fold,I am the turncoat of the pack—The yellow-flaming tamarack!I hoist my shining staff,I give them all the laugh,Until my golden needles dropAnd sober up. I’ve had my fling—Next springWhen I am seenAgain, I’ll be an evergreen!
Amongthe evergreens I growAll summer long—they do not know—I look so much as if I wereAn honest upright kind of fir.I even think they envy me,My fronds show such a filigreeOf needlework, all interlaced—They do not know I’m double-faced.I am as straight as any lanceAnd so I win their confidence;I know their inmost secret things,I hear their softest murmurings,I listen and maintain my mien—They think I am an evergreen!
But when the summer goes,October knows! October knows!For then my needles turn to gold,I stand a traitor to the fold,I am the turncoat of the pack—The yellow-flaming tamarack!I hoist my shining staff,I give them all the laugh,Until my golden needles dropAnd sober up. I’ve had my fling—Next springWhen I am seenAgain, I’ll be an evergreen!