A panther stalks within my home at night
And daytime fails to drive him far away
Because he knows that what he does is right
And for all time he's been allowed to stay.
-
Our brother Death has always been among us
I fear, though it's not me that he comes stalking.
In olden times he sought but didn't taunt us,
Not like this. Not like now. His tone is mocking.
-
The moments and the things they hold don't last
Since everything has temporary breath
The special things that we've seen come to pass
Are pleasures we receive this side of death.
-
So let us revel in our pre-death state
And let us now ignore our later fate.
