Beyond

Beyond the sun is an immeasurable void;

Beyond the laughter is a gulf of tears.

The bright facade of living hides the dead.

Brittle as glass it shivers, is destroyed;

By one sharp blow the edifice of years

Crumbles, its transient beauty shed;

And all the arts of man, howe’er deployed,

Can only show what to the eye appears

One moment held, and then for ever fled.

The subtle scents and sounds by sense enjoyed

Come not to stay save in the garnered past,

And all the pride of human toil is blown

Upon the winds that lay the cosmos waste,

Beyond our living is a life unknown.