Being Old

It’s because you are so young⁠—
You do not understand.
    But we are old
    As the jungle trees
    That bloomed forever,
    Old as the forgotten rivers
    That flowed into the earth.
Surely we know what you do not know:
    Joy of living,
    Uselessness of things.
You are too young to understand yet.
    Build another skyscraper
    Touching the stars.
We sit with our backs against a tree
And watch skyscrapers tumble
And stars forget.
    Solomon built a temple
    And it must have fallen down.
    It isn’t here now.
We know some things, being old,
You do not understand.