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Friday, August 15, 2014

Time's Painted Veil





Now lay thee down, oh faded crown
Of hill and hollow beaming
Where shadow fills the shallow rills
Of dawn to dusk soft gleaming
The daffodil that roused a thrill
Leading a troupe of flowers
Returns to dust as all life must
‘Neath the command of hours

This home-sweet-home beneath a dome
Of universal thunder
Bears bloom-belled grass and boys that pass
To manhood as we wonder
And oft exclaim how quickly came
That foreign Far we pondered
As fain we yearn for the return
Of Fortunes that we squandered

The vanity of what we see
Entertains as it severs
This delicate mortality
To consummate Forever
Ah, flesh and blood, be not our god
Nor vainglory our passion
Time’s painted veil is framed to fail
Its cap-sheaf a sad fortune

Now lay thee down on fell wind-blown
Futile to beg and barter
Or think to change or rearrange
Time’s elemental charter
This sprinkling of flowers we love
Falls fondly through our fingers
Earth’s cradle- grave consumes its wave
Only the soul yet lingers

© Janet Martin

The signs are everywhere...Time is a painted veil.










2 comments:

  1. Janet, watching your video with the beautiful scenery and hearing the birds singing and then read your magnificent poem, well, it just added something very special to my day ..
    Thank you ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. ;0 I'm disappointed in the exposure of the video... but it did capture the sound of crickets and birds. Glad you enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete

I hope you enjoyed your pause on this porch and thank-you for your visit!