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| 'Borrowed plumes' Harrison Weir's illustration of The Vain Jackdaw, 1881 |
Everything I have is borrowed
nothing tangible is really mine
from the air I breathe
to the body I wear
all has come from elsewhere in time.
*
I may live my life 'til I'm ninety
lesser or longer maybe
but whatever I touch
and whatever I gain
has been borrowed for my moment in time.
*
At birth I borrowed my parents
to give me the body you see
from the earth around
with its vast abounds
I still borrow the food that I eat.
*
The place where I live
and the tools I use
all borrowed from some other place
and the questions I ask
as I come to this view
is from whom have I borrowed my soul?
*
Dennis Crompton © 1995
