ETERNITY, Eternity,
How long art thou, Eternity?
Count the gold and silver blossoms
Spring has scattered o'er the sea,
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 wood-birds 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?