The Gypsies of Wales

Dandelion Clocks

Today the dandelion clocks were telling the time
And the time they tell is: late, but never too late;
After all regrets there is still the high blue sky,
And the garden heavy with seed, and the sun on the slate,
Warming the dour black roofs of the houses, saying:
There comes a day when all the bells must ring, and the praying
Be over, because some prayers are answered at the last.
After the tears of grief comes exhausted silence,
And days when memory grows faint, and a past
Burnished by life's erosion to a warmer sheen:
It is because we fade and fail that our lives are bearable.
The careless, beautiful world does not mean
Anything but itself; it is not for us, who will not be staying;
Yet such blind loveliness almost seems to say:
Look and be moved, take your comfort where you may.