About a week ago, on a windy day, the sky seemed to change every few minutes. Rain to clearing to grey clouds to sunshine. It struck me not just how changeable the weather is, but how impermanent everything is. Buildings topple, land erodes into the sea, and even stars eventually die. Of course, this is not an original or profound idea. Many poets have written about impermanence:

Bashō:

“Summer grasses—

all that remains

of warrior’s dream”

 

Robert Frost, Nothing Gold Can Stay

W.B. Yeats, The Wild Swans at Coole

But then there’s this poem by Jane Hirshfield, Perishable, It said, which I really like.

I thought then that there are all types of impermanence–and that this can be a good thing. You know, the change of seasons, elections to get rid of a would-be emperor.  . .

So, today for Poetics, I’d like you to think about impermanence, things that are transient, or things that have passed their time. If you want to stick to the seasons, nature, or the weather, that’s fine, but I’d like to challenge you to try to come up with something different or unusual.

Your poem can be in any style or form.

If you’re new to dVerse, here’s how to join in:

*Write a poem (in any style) in response to the challenge. It must be about transience or impermanence.

*Enter a link directly to your poem and your name by clicking Mister Linky below–and remember to check the little box to accept the use/privacy policy.

*Check back later to read and comment on the poems of others–we all come here to have our poems read.

Have fun! Joy is ephemeral, too.

*Please link back to dVerse from your site/blog.