Or like the singing of a swan;
Even such is man, who lives by breath,
Is here, now there, in life, and death.
The grass withers; the tale is ended;
The bird is flown; the dew's ascended;
The hour is short; the span not long;
The swan's near death; man's life is done.
[IV.]
Like to the bubble in the brook;
Or, in a glass, much like a look;