Thy life, O Man, in this brief moment lies: <br />Time's narrow bridge whereon we darkling stand, <br />With an infinitude on either hand <br />Receding luminously from our eyes. <br />Lo, there thy Past's forsaken Paradise <br />Subsideth like some visionary strand, <br />While glimmering faint, the Future's promised land, <br />Illusive from the abyss, seems fain to rise. <br /> <br />This hour alone Hope's broken pledges mar, <br />And joy now gleams before, now in our rear, <br />Like mirage mocking in some waste afar, <br />Dissolving into air as we draw near. <br />Beyond our steps the path is sunny-clear, <br />The shadow lying only where we are.<br /><br />Mathilde Blind<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/time-s-shadow/
