"Eternity, Eternity! How long art thou, Eternity?"
Count the gold and silver blossoms,
Spring has scattered o'er the lea;
Count the softly sounding ripples
Sparkling in the summer sea;
Count the lightly flickering shadows
In the autumn forest glade;
Count pale nature's scattered teardrops,
Icy gems by winter made.
Count the tiny blades that glitter
Early in the morning dew;
Count the desert sand that stretches
Under noontide's vault of blue;
Count the notes that woodbirds warble
In the evening's fading light;
Count the stars that gleam and twinkle
O'er the firmament of night.
When thy counting all is done,
Scarce eternity's begun.
Reader, pause where wilt thou be
During thine eternity?