First, Write In Gold Poem by Jay Mandeville

first, write in gold, with reliable pen
each beast and flower's origin,
sallow, florid, pale or tan.
then add your list of loves and friends.

and before you wish
to use this writing,
leave it in the sunlight drying.
then store the page that you've let lie
most carefully as centuries fly.

let Time do its work,
shade folium with brunum.
let the words drink the light
of an endless continuum.

the result is a writing
more fit to reflect
in the mirror of transience
life's retrospect.

Love is our species'
elixir of glory,
distilled from
Nature's laboratory.

Of time spent here,
nothing is kept,
but the gold that you
write with,
the blossoms you
protect.



Note: 'shade folium with brunum' refers to bright, thick colours that were mixed to write on parchments in the old days. Brunum is brownish, and Folium may be red, yellow, or blue.