13 And death is not their master,
14 aDespite his blizzard reign,
15 bFor they remember the earth of their home,
16 cAnd they breathe through all the pain,
17 Living for children yet to come,
18 Who will learn, and grow, and remain.
CHAPTER 211 The way of the Chinks is springtime,
2 dCyclic and fertile and ancient and new.
3 They move with the earth,
4 And a egreening that mantles their acres in eons.
5 The world has laughed at the fwalls round their fields,
6 During endless ages of gmud,
7 But when shoots reappear,
8 And put forth their hfruit,
9 The world has ibegged to their door,
10 Asking for treasures that no one should have,
11 Who lacks the patience to sow,
12 A crop that may never come—
13 jParting the mud with hands that will rot,
14 Before kseedlings reach out for the sun.
15 You can smile and dismiss the spring of the Chinks,
16 From your larder of instant joys,
17 But what do you know of the lrolling of time,
18 mAnd the wisdom of learning to think through the years,
19 In a state of constant becoming?
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CHAPTER 221 The way of the Nips is autumn,
2 A sadness that gnaws at the heart,
3 nAs leaves fall in whispers of meaning,
4 oAnd patterns of infinite art.
5 Each day of sun is a step toward the end,
6 When the flames of trees flicker down,
7 But the leaves pdance together,
8 To qhonor a tree that will echo their sighs,
9 Long after these rdancers are dust on the ground.
10 But they sdance for the others,
11 The ones who will come,
12 As well as the ones who are gone,
13 And they know in their souls,
14 That the tree is all tone,
15 One life that goes on and on:
16 And the death of one leaf is only a dream,
17 From which the one life will awaken in time,
18 And put on a new crown of flame.
CHAPTER 231 The ways of the Others are endless,
2 Green gardens of mystery flowers,
3 Each with its own way and world,
4 Beyond our wildest fantasies,
5 But short of our timeworm certainties.
6 Some live in upeace,
7 And some live for vwar,
8 Whichever their gods prefer;
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