For secrets of unwithering flesh and bone—
With these old Egypt’s night was comforted.
We lean upon the glass, our curious eyes
Staring at death, three thousand years remote.
And vanity, the worm that never dies,
Feeds on your silver ring and Pharaoh’s coat.
And are these heartbeats, then, less perilous?
Since death is close, and death is death for us.
Alter Brody
Alter Brody was born at Kartúshkiya-Beróza, Province of Grodno, Russia, November 1, 1895. He came to New York City at the age of eight and, after a cursory schooling, wrote translations for certain Jewish and American newspapers. His first poems appeared in The Seven Arts in 1916-17.