i saw new england fall in the autumn
professing themselves wise
they learned to be fools
i saw the picture-postcards and the majesty
and it died

if ever there was a key
to wisdom and knowledge
it is the cornerstone rejected by the world
if ever was a people so removed from absolutes
absolutely

i heard the depth and height of information
served on steaming tables of speculation
i understood the rite of education
for the sake of the elite

if ever there was a reason
it was love
if ever any person personified that love
it was Jesus

i heard the shot heard 'round the campus
it was the deification of humanity
one that had ceased to be human
one who pretended to be God

and i recalled another ruler
in the autumn of another time and place
he refused to give God the glory
and like dying leaves
in a cold cold land
eaten up and died