I stand in silence to contemplate
Man’s lot on Earth, His sorry fate
Pains ever present in our lives
And touches all, the fool the wise.
Yet, even when we come to pass
We fight for breath until the last.
We walk in sunlight sleep in shade
Decay like leaf-mould in the grave.
The child, once folded in our arms
Like sawdust trickles from the hand.
For every life but a moment takes
And at its end oblivion waits…
When every smile enlights the heart
Kind words such solace can impart.
When every hour brings thoughts of spring
How dreams of summers past take wing
When blackbirds in their ardour sing
Of sunlit-gardens they have known
Who little care for what has gone
Or where last-season’s birds have flown.
Happiness is such a fleeting thing
More precious than the gold of kings
And love more eloquent in a heart
Untutored by the poet’s art…