The Sign Disdained

To decay, to become mould, dank mould,
Green-lipped, festered; to become dust-
To be thwarted asunder by the hand of time-
To be emptied of office-
This is the heritage Time bequests.
Yet in the whitening mould
Is the leaven of resurrection.
In the parting of dusts is the freeing of substance,
That tenuous substance which is the "Pith."
In the green lips of mould lies the kiss of begetting.
The heritage of "destruction"
Is the heritage of "resurrection."
Lo, before the eyes of man
Is the pageantry of existent past-
Yea, past and repast.
Yet in none of this is man secured.
By no action of the God is man convinced.
He giveth pause an instant when he hath come
Unto the fullness of his own wisdom,
Which meaneth but the culmination
Of his gleanings, egad and announceth,
That the day which ceaseth with him-
Foredooms eternity,