As to the ultimate meaning of it all

As to the ultimate meaning of it all,

We know just what we know.  We can't know more.

Somewhere far away there stands a door.

Somewhere there hangs a solitary key.

The end is near.  The end is always near.

The end is all around us, every day,

In every cell of your body, in the rosy

Cheeks of your children playing in the yard,

In the strong bronze arm of your lover, safe in bed,

And in the house on fire, where the body

Of someone you love burns like a Christmas log.

And yet love happens, blooming as if from air.