Robert William Service - Reptiles And Roses

So crystal clear it is to me <br />That when I die I cease to be, <br />All else seems sheer stupidity. <br /> <br />All promises of Paradise <br />Are wishful thinking, preacher's lies, <br />Dogmatic dust flung in our eyes. <br /> <br />Yea, life's immortal, swift it flows <br />Alike in reptile and in rose, <br />But as it comes, so too it goes. <br /> <br />Dead roses will not bloom again; <br />The lifeless lizard writhes in vain; <br />Cups shattered will not hold champagne. <br /> <br />Our breath is brief, and being so <br />Let's make our heaven here below, <br />And lavish kindness as we go. <br /> <br />For when dour Death shall close the door <br />There will be darkness evermore; <br />So let us kneel in prayer before <br /> <br />Each day and let our duty be <br />To fight that mankind may be free . . . <br />There is our Immortality.<br /><br />Robert William Service<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/reptiles-and-roses/