Do Birds Fall Silent?

Do the birds fall silent when we leave,

Is the sun less bright because we dream

Of night and on its bosom grieve.

Are the mountains held in less esteem

By souls who follow in our stead

Is the fragrance of the forest less,

Do new-born souls replace the dead,

Does love rescind its tenderness

Because death is and life must die?

To manifest God and truly live

We must forego the strident "I".

By self-forgetting ourselves we give.