For J.T.
We cannot know it, yet we know it's true:
time does not pass, but like an atmosphere
soaks up all thought and action, joy and fear
and rains them down on us each day anew.
We cannot know it, but the prophets knew
time does not pass, and every passing year
is just a tiny glass through which we peer
into dazzling eternity: a view
we cannot bear. Darling, regret soon dies
from lack of food, for everything is here
and that lovely, gem-eyed schoolgirl of your youth
still dances where her dreams are realized
and in your heart lives all that she holds dear
and in your emerald eyes the dazzling truth.