Following the Thread

 There’s a thread you follow. It goes among /  things that change. But it doesn’t change. /  People wonder about what you are pursuing. /  You have to explain about the thread. / But it is  hard for others to see. / While you hold it you  can’t get lost. / Tragedies happen; people get  hurt / or die; and you suffer and get old. /  Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding. / You  don’t ever let go of the thread.    

 —William Stafford, The Way It Is