1. A frame as decrepit as aging wished it to be,
And a face as unsightly as one could imagine,

2. And a branch bleached by time, as though
A white dawn had cloaked it in a mantle of snow.

3. Yet only yesterday, so it seems, this form
Was draped in the dark of the night like a glorious norm.

4. O nights that have come to him, maidens in grace
In beauty so fine, or in sorrow's embrace.

5. A garden it was, this cheer of his face,
With rainfall of clouds embroidering lace.

6. The soft silken robes of the breeze left a trace
Of scent, like musk when it's freshly distilled into place.