Time's Fading

Was it just yesterday the seasons turned, That the lotus blossom fell, And the storm clouds were churned? It was just yesterday, they tell, That the sky was a fine diamond blue, But summer’s rung its final bell. Then winter ran, as winters do, Through the black and heedless night, And spring once more began anew. But where have gone the birds in flight? Then where has gone the snow? And where, oh where, has gone the maiden’s sight? Her aching back is hanging low, And weary is what was once sublime, Darkened is what was once aglow. It was Time that killed the doe in the dawn’s morning glow, That toppled the mountain too, Time that stripped, destroyed like lime, The lovely maiden’s faded prime.