There was a flower blowing
and a hand plucked it.
There was a stream flowing
and a body smirched it.
There was a pure mirror
of water and a face came
and looked in it. There were words
and wars and treaties, and feet trampled
the earth and the wheels
seared it; and an explosion
followed. There was dust
and silence; and out of the dust
a plant grew, and the dew formed
upon it; and a stream seeped
from the dew to construct
a mirror, and the mirror was empty.
R.S. Thomas (1913-2000)
