i know that at the dim end of some day the sun will bid me its farewell.

shepherds will play their pipes beneath the banyan trees, and cattle graze on the slope by the river, while my days will pass into the dark.

this is my prayer, that i may know before i leave why the earth called me to her arms.

why her night’s silence spoke to me of stars, and her daylight kissed my thoughts into flower.

before i go may i linger over my last refrain, completing its music, may the lamp be lit to see your face and the wreath woven to crown you.