A CHANT
Reading edition
Gently the petals fall as the tree gently sways That has known many springs and many petals fall Year after year to strew the green deserted ways And the statue and the pond and the low, broken wall.
Faded is the memory of old things done, Peace floats on the ruins of ancient festival; They lie and forget in the warmth of the sun, And a sky silver-blue arches over all.
O softly, O tenderly, the heart now stirs With desires faint and formless; and, seeking not, I find Quiet thoughts that flash like azure kingfishers Across the luminous, tranquil mirror of the mind.