There is a long tradition of poetry that ruminates on the passage of time. Japanese haiku are notable for their sublime meditations on this theme, borrowing images from nature. Some Western poets, perhaps influenced by this oriental disposition, have also produced excellent poems of this kind. Here, I share two poems that upon the brevity of our lives.  The first is a version of a beautiful poem by the 17th-century English poet, Robert Herrick, and the other is a haiku I wrote recently called ‘The Wait’.

Daffodils

Dear daffodils, we weep
to see you go so soon.
And yet,
we have as short a time
as you, and as short a spring
to bloom, while our hours die
as your hours do,
washed away
like morning rain
never to be seen again.

~ Original poem by Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

The Wait

We waited for our finest hour.
And spring came and spring went.
That was our finest hour.

~ Wallace Fong