A Silver Shaft Appeared at the Temple
Copyright (c) 1993, Jim Reid
All rights reserved



A silver shaft appeared at the Temple
  shining among the gold.
Did it appear overnight like a Spring mushroom,
  or was it there much longer - hiding?
Anomaly, or portent?  I wonder...
 
I prayed for a sign that I might know:
  Does this foreshadow the end of the present,
    or perhaps the beginning of the next?
Silence.
I searched the temple carefully.  More silver
  where once only golden gleamed.
 
Silver on the crown and the crest, too.
And the golden shafts are thinner now -
  worn away in friction with time.
When did I stop growing up
  and start growing old?

