Softened and smoothed by rains sent down from the skies
Green with moss, by icy frosts deep burned
Your gentle cheeks, your large and lowered eyes
In peace towards their distant goal are turned
Willing to decay and to disperse
Into the shapeless, boundless universe.
Yet still the crumbling posture and expression
Reveal the noble motives of your mission
Seeking, despite the mud, the earth, the chill
The fading forms, your great task to fulfil.
Tomorrow into roots and leaves you’ll turn
And into water, reflecting sky and sun
And into ivy, algae and green fern
An image of the eternal All-is-One.