Little by little, life goes on
Minute after minute, and then it’s gone
A brief bit of essence to work upon
Like a fog lingering on the lawn
Little by little, life it grows
Hour by hour, it never slows
And into the river of time it flows
Like the petals that fall from a fading rose
Little by little, life measures out
Second to second, through faith and doubt
A small chance to see what it’s all about
Like an interstate over a rural route
Little by little, life passes by
Morning to evening the hours fly
A slice of the infinite before your eye
Like birds flying south in a winter sky
Little by little, life goes on
Day after day it moves, then it’s gone
A miniscule fragment of hither and yon
Like a few fleeting flashes before the dawn
Little by little, life comes and goes
Measured in ounces that ebb and flow
A drop from the river for all we know
Like fast melting pieces of falling snow
Little by little, life goes so fast
Each grain of sand fills an hourglass
An tiny oasis on which we’re cast
Like desert birds, making each dewdrop last
Little by little, life ends too soon
Only so many suns and full moons
A short time to learn so many new tunes
Like emptying the ocean by coffee spoon.
03 MAR 2003
“I have measured out my life in coffee spoons …”
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T. S. Eliot
