The Illusion of Eternity
 
Things of this world 
In pure afternoons of gold, 
And splendor of October, 
Radiant air, still trees, 
Give the illusion of eternity. 

As if there were no suffering, 
No ancient heart-ache of the being, 
No tortures of the soul, 
No struggle with mortality, 
But changelessness, eternity. 

A leaf falls here and there, 
There are small birds a-chirp 
A chipmunk on a pine tree, 
No cloud in the sky, 
October afternoon, gold rarity. 

Through the transparent air 
Time is a kind of singing 
In the inner being, 
Acceptable singing 
Giving the illusion of eternity.


   
Poem by Richard Eberhart

 

Image from foliage-vermont © Copyright PBPublishing 1999