At the Smithsonian

The shard outlasts the hand that shaped the bowl; The flint knife lasts beyond the arm that flayed; The ash outlasts the breath that fanned the coal;

The coin outlasts the royal head portrayed.

Olympic fields outlast the feet that raced;

Cave paintings last beyond the eyes that saw;

Foundation rock outlasts the guards that paced;

The tomb outlasts the bodies held in awe -

Yet, purpose lasts beyond the tumbled walls;

Design outlasts the chipped and broken flask.

Skill speaks to skill across man's endless falls.

The dream outlasts the finite things men ask.

The body, grounded, wastes and disappears,

But spirit arcs across ten million years.