Nebuchadnezzar
your glories are fading
your riches are gone.
How you must learn to
recapture pleasure
while all in your court sing
the battles you won.
Who can you speak to
ancient Methusela
you who have lived more than
all other men,
though your heart break so
torn and confused by a
wish that all life began
over again.
Where is there comfort
for you who have lived the most,
loved the most, wept the most,
wished the most — all
companions of common sort,
those for whom life is brief,
love is brief, joy is brief,
deaf to your call.