Can these blossoms' early blessing
Last not even one brief hour?
Warm west wind already shakes them
Down in bounteous bloomy shower.
Shall the green I lately thanked for
Shade give pleasure to my eyes?
Soon the wuthering storms will strew it,
Withered pale by autumn skies.
Want to pluck the fruit that hangs there?
Get your share, and do not wait.
These are ripening already
Those are soon to germinate.
Just like that, your pleasant valley
Alters with each rush of rain.
Ah, and in the selfsame river
You swim once, but not again.
Even you! What seemed before you
Set in constant stone to rise,
Castle walls and towers you look at
Now with ever-changing eyes.
Worn away the lip whose every
Pain found healing in a kiss,
Legs that leapt to meet the wildgoat's
Challenge on the precipice,
Gone the hand outstretched and open,
With its generous good intent,
And its shapely, subtle structure...
All things now are different.
All that holds itself together
In that spot and bears your name
Hurries like a wave born hither
Back to elements whence it came.
Let the end and the beginning
Into one point unify.
Swifter even than these fleeting
Objects, let yourself speed by.
Thank the Muse whose favor promised
This imperishable find:
Your heart's Content joined forever
To the Form within your mind.