A newborn is soft and tender, A crone, hard and stiff. Plants and animals, in life, are supple and succulent; In death, withered and dry. So softness and tenderness are attributes of life, And hardness and stiffness, attributes of death.
Just as a sapless tree will split and decay So an inflexible force will meet defeat; The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground While the tender and weak dance on the breeze above.
A crone, hard and stiff.
Plants and animals, in life, are supple and succulent;
In death, withered and dry.
So softness and tenderness are attributes of life,
And hardness and stiffness, attributes of death.
Just as a sapless tree will split and decay
So an inflexible force will meet defeat;
The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
While the tender and weak dance on the breeze above.