You that fly too quick

You that beat your tender wings

So swift and real!

That springs from earth’s breast,

Unshackled by its restraining will.

You that dart across heaven’s vault,

Seeking all its deep delights.

You who fly with no concern of death’s law,

We knowers of untimely destruction.

You whose beauty is magnified by our ugly woes,

Which you carry to the ends of the known world.

You who is an ephemeral delight,

Which we grasp with our limited eyes.

Your last elegant flight we will hold in our mind,

Lest we let your beauty fade into the twilight of our times.