Introspection on a Boring Day in Class

It danced in the shaft of light,
it danced,
And twirled and flitted and flew.

It is free now from its plight
It's free,
And now its time is through,

From ashes it came
And
To itself it goes,
In the window frame,

In the beams of Sol
And
Heat's shadow
Which slithers on its plane

Saw it first without my notice
Did the comer of my eye

And as I sat, this Caveat,
Made me wonder why

How can these little bits
Mere pieces of my skin

Move with so much life,
So much vigor so much vim

Will I somehow be in this place
When I cease to be?

That spec of dust,
That light,
That shadow that I see?

          THOMAS PATTON