Like vanishing dew, <br />a passing apparition, <br />or a sudden flash of <br />lightning ~ already gone ~ <br />so should one regard ones self. <br /> <br />What might I leave you <br />as my lasting legacy ~ <br />flowers in springtime, <br />the mockingbird singing all summer, <br />the yellow leaves of autumn. <br /> <br />Only now do I know <br />that power ~ greater than storms, <br />a heart-rending awe <br />silencing all the pines <br />at nightfall on the mountain. <br /> <br />If pressed to compare <br />this brief life, I would say <br />it’s like the boat <br />that crossed this morning’s harbor, <br />leaving no mark on the world. <br /> <br />To learn to die, <br />watch the cherry blossoms <br />observe the chrysanthemums. <br />O voice of the all night wind and rain, <br />do you count the petals falling.<br /><br />Jim Jordan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/zen-and-the-art-of-dying/
