And there we stood and watched the world go by
Silent and still, under the morning sky
Under the sun where all things naked pass
And vie to last against the hour glass.
Across the ages, and the lands, across the lives
of men.
But nothing new we saw in future, present, past
No more than passing shadows, struggling to last
We stood and watched and saw the seasons turn and change
And love and hate and toil from age to age
And longing deep and sighing end to end
And wisdom, slow to arrive, slower to thrive, and tardy to the mend
Of little comfort and giving to despair.
The traveller sighed and slowly turned from there
He took my hand, and led me down again
The mountain slope.
And at its foot we parted and each went on his way
“Everything dies” he cried, the last I heard him say.