Hurrying for ever in their restless flight 
The generations of earth's teeming womb 
Rise into being and lapse into the tomb 
Like transient bubbles sparkling in the light; 
They sink in quick succession out of sight 
Into the thick insuperable gloom 
Our futile lives in flashing by illume-- 
Lightning which mocks the darkness of the night. 

Nay--but consider, though we change and die, 
If men must pass shall Man not still remain? 
As the unnumbered drops of summer rain 
Whose changing particles unchanged on high, 
Fixed, in perpetual motion, yet maintain 
The mystic bow emblazoned on the sky.