The one close to me now,
even my own body –
these too will soon become clouds,
floating in different directions.
– Izumi Shikibu1
Everything changes. Nothing lasts.
Every object disappears.
Every memory fades.
Every attachment ends.
Every person goes away.
Everything is here and gone,
like a morning star that fades into sunlight,
like a flash of lightning in the night,
like a flickering candle burning out.
How do I embrace a life so short and fragile?
Reference
Izumi Shikibu. The Ink Dark Moon. Translated by Jane Hirshfield with Mariko Aratani. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (Vintage Classics). Quote taken from location 727 (Kindle Edition).
